The Navy needs to update its current fleet of minehunters which are mostly ex-Royal Navy (U.K.) vessels, Monday's "Aktuaalne kaamera" reported.

Three larger vessels of around 90 meters in length should be laid down new, though if financial constraints do not allow that, compromises will have to be made, Minister of Defense Hanno Pevkur (Reform) said.

Additionally, nine smaller vessels of 60-70 meters in length should be built, though the lifespan of existing ships could be extended. By comparison, the navy's current flagship, the EML Admiral Cowan, has a length of 52.6 meters

The new ships must be built in Estonia, Pevkur told "Aktuaalne kaamera."

"With ships of this scale, we are primarily talking about two builders – Baltic Workboats (BWB) and BLRT. However, I do not rule out some smaller shipbuilders being able to develop their capabilities to the point where they would be able to build smaller types of ships," he said.

In 2017, commanders of the Estonian, Latvian and Lithuanian navies discussed what their renewed fleets should look like.

Lithuania has opted to put new warships into service this year. Estonian shipbuilder BLRT commissioned its Lithuanian subsidiary Western Baltic Engineering, in collaboration with the Danish firm OSK Design, to develop a conceptual design for an 88-meter-long navy ship called the Perkunas. However, Vilnius still has to decide whether this will go ahead or if an alternative will be used.

Estonia's concept is already in place and there is an understanding about which vessels are needed, Commander of the Defense Forces (EDF) Maj. Gen. Andrus Merilo said.

"It is much more important for us to find financial resources over the long term, which will provide the basis for the further development of naval vessels. We need to find the resources, which is work in progress. We will most likely find these resources. And we will set out a roadmap for when and which ships will be built," he said.

A study has been commissioned from the Swedish national research institute RISE, to determine which category of vessel might be suitable for various military and civilian functions. In addition to warships, these would include border guard, pollution control, and search and rescue functions.

"The completion of this advisory study should be a matter of the coming months. Plus, the main goal is to get a concept of what kind of ship would be most suitable for the Baltic region or the Baltic Sea, providing the multi-functionality that the navy must fulfill," Pevkur said.

The Merevägi is organizationally a part of the EDF and not a standalone service. The Police and Border Guard Board's (PPA) former fleet was merged with the Navy's in 2023.

Estonia has the ninth longest coastline of European NATO member states, but since it also has an eastern border with Russia, along with Latvia and Lithuania – who also share a border with Belarus – doctrine focuses more on securing this frontier, with coastal defenses forming the main aspect to the seaward side.

With Sweden and Finland having joined NATO, the navies of these countries and of other allied nations such as Joint Expeditionary Force (JEF) lead nation the U.K., are focused on the Baltic, now dubbed the NATO "lake."

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