24.09.23 NEWS ... The Baltic Sea still holds hundreds of thousands of tons of ammunition left from the two world wars. Since the latter, tens of thousands of tons of chemical weapons containers have also been dumped. Germany has announced plans to retrieve munitions from the seabed, while many scientists doubt the safety of the undertaking.

22.09.23 NEWS ... Minister of Foreign Affairs Margus Tsahkna (Eesti 200) says that in a situation where Russia is holding the UN Security Council hostage paralyzing its work, steps must be taken to remove that obstruction and restore the council's normal functioning.

21.09.23 NEWS ... Residents of Kuressaare, the capital of Saaremaa, will be able to see and hear a United States Army UH-60 Blackhawk helicopter on Friday, regional daily Saarte hääl reports.

18.09.23 NEWS ... While according to ERR's information, Estonia was weighing giving cluster munitions in its stocks to Ukraine in January already, unlike the U.S., it has yet to actually follow through.

15.09.23 NEWS ... The NATO Baltic Air Security Mission normally based at Ämari will next year temporarily relocate South of the border to Latvia, while the Estonian airfield undergoes renovation work.

12.09.23 NEWS ... Sanctions on Russia need to be under constant review and renewal, former President of Estonia Kersti Kaljulaid says, since those imposed even a year ago, leave alone five years ago, can often prove toothless.

12.09.23 NEWS ... Any provision by Germany to Ukraine of its Taurus air-launched cruise missiles hinges on the ability of the Ukrainians to handle the system themselves, while these would be intended for use solely within the territory of Ukraine, Nils Schmid, SPD parliamentary group spokesperson for foreign affairs at the German Bundestag, told ERR's Epp Ehand Monday, in an interview which follows in its entirety.

12.09.23 NEWS ... Germany's Minister of Defense Boris Pistorius told ERR Monday that his country will be boosting defense spending at a time when the defense industry in the European Union's largest nation is boosting output volumes, both to meet the union's needs and those of Ukraine.

11.09.23 NEWS ... Estonia and Latvia signed the contract to purchase IRIS-T SLM medium-range air defense systems from Germany's Diehl Defense at a meeting with their German counterpart in Nuremberg.

11.09.23 NEWS ... The Financial Times reports that NATO will hold the greatest exercise since the Cold War on its eastern flank next year, aimed at practicing countering a Russian attack.

09.09.23 NEWS ... A major two-week Baltic Sea naval exercises involving some 30 ships and more than 3,000 personnel from NATO member states is getting underway today, Saturday, Reuters reports.

09.09.23 NEWS ... The United States now has a military presence in Estonia of around 600 personnel, that country's ambassador to Estonia says. This increase is largely the result of a pledge by President Joe Biden to boost his country's military presence in the region, and in Europe more broadly.

08.09.23 NEWS ... Minister of Foreign Affairs Margus Tsahkna (Eesti 200) has criticized the owner of the X platform, Elon Musk, over the latter's refusal to make a satellite network operated by his company SpaceX in the region close to occupied Crimea, in Ukraine.

08.09.23 NEWS ... Estonia fully supports Lithuanian initiatives to enhance border security and to mitigate potential risks, and is following closely developments on the Belarusian and Russian borders with the European Union, President Alar Karis says.

07.09.23 NEWS ... Spain's military presence in Estonia currently includes both air policing, with the Spanish air force, flying from Ämari base, and air defense, thanks to the Norwegian Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile System (NASAMS) unit also based in-country, Minister of Defense Hanno Pevkur (Reform) says.

07.09.23 NEWS ... Reservists from the Estonian Defense League's (Kaitseliit) Northern Territorial Defense District have spent almost a week in training as part of the Ussisõnad (Parseltongue) exercise. On Thursday, they will to take to the streets of Tallinn for an urban training exercise, to be conducted in cooperation with partner institutions.

07.09.23 NEWS ... In August, the Center for Defense Investment (RKIK) decided to terminate a €17 million contract with the supplier of the Estonian Defense Forces' (EDF) food packages due to issues with their quality.

06.09.23 NEWS ... A company-sized unit of French airborne forces arrived in Estonia last week to participate in the training of reservists in north eastern Estonia. The training is a component of exercise Ussisõnad (Parseltongue).

06.09.23 NEWS ... On Tuesday at Ämari Air Base, Undersecretary for Defense Planning at the Estonian Ministry of Defense Tiina Uudeberg awarded mission medals to the members of the Spanish NASAMS (National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile System) medium-range air defense system unit.

04.09.23 NEWS ... Grant Shapps has been appointed Defense Secretary of the United Kingdom, a key ally of Estonia.

30.08.23 NEWS ... The "Ussisõnad" exercise brought together the leaders of the Northern Territorial Defense District's reserve subunits at the Tapa military base.

29.08.23 NEWS ... Spain's Minister of Defense Margarita Robles and her Estonian counterpart Hanno Pevkur agreed at an EU defense ministerial that Spain will extend the Estonian stay of its NASAMS medium-range air defense systems.

29.08.23 NEWS ... The Ministry of Defense has sent the draft bill which would give the go ahead to the expansion of the Nursipalu training ground in Võru County for its coordination round.

23.08.23 NEWS ... Commander of the Estonian Defense Forces (EDF) Gen. Martin Herem, Estonian Minister of Defense Hanno Pevkur (Reform) and representatives of the Estonian Reserve Officers' Association (EROK), unveiled a bust of Lt. Gen. Johannes Kert on Tuesday in Võru, in the square in front of Taara barracks.

22.08.23 NEWS ... Finland's Minister of Defense Antti Häkkänen (National Coalition Party) said that the country would decide Helsinki's participation in NATO peacetime missions come fall. Finland could station troops in the Baltics or participate in the Baltic Air Policing mission.

21.08.23 NEWS ... Defense procurement has been rendered more standardized in Estonia, in the interests of obtaining better prices and contract conditions, on international markets.

21.08.23 NEWS ... The Estonian Center for Defense Investments (RKIK) has carried out its first compulsory purchase of a property inside an area earmarked for an expanded military training zone in South Estonia. The transaction, with all compensation factored in, turned out to be multiple times the market rate for an equivalent property elsewhere, ERR reports.

18.08.23 NEWS ... The Police and Border Guard Board (PPA) and the Estonian Navy (Merevägi) joined Finnish border guard personnel in an exercise on the Baltic Sea just off the coast of Tallinn, one which forms part of rehearsals for various security-related scenarios which have been going on since the start of summer.

17.08.23 NEWS ... Estonia's Minister of Foreign Affairs Margus Tsahkna (Eesti 200) said at the government press conference Thursday that he has signed a contract to sell his stake in field hospital maker MM Hospital and that everything should become clear in the coming days.

16.08.23 NEWS ... A "slightly" above average number of "cyber incidents" for the last six months was recorded by the Estonian Information System Authority (RIA) in July, the agency said on Wednesday. Monthly reports will now be published in English.

16.08.23 NEWS ... Magnus-Valdemar Saar, director general of the Estonian Centre for Defense Investments (ECDI), and Lubor Koudelka, director general of the Armaments and Acquisition Division of the Czech Ministry of Defense, have signed a memorandum of understanding, which lays the foundation for defense cooperation between the two countries.

16.08.23 NEWS ... Russia has not acted on its threat to position troops at its border with Finland following the Scandinavian country's NATO accession, Finnish Foreign Minister Elina Valtonen said Tuesday.

16.08.23 NEWS ... The Ministry of Justice has drafted a bill which would, if it entered into law, restrict the right of citizens of aggressor states to vote in local elections in Estonia. The bill largely pertains to citizens of the Russian Federation and Belarus.

14.08.23 NEWS ... Ten thousand reservists are expected to participate in Exercise Ussisõnad (Parseltongue) at the end of the month, the largest military reservist training exercise in Estonian history.

11.08.23 NEWS ... A planned VAT hike on media publications comes exactly at a time when the Russian Federation is pumping funds into its own media and propaganda efforts, anti-misinformation website Propastop reports.

10.08.23 NEWS ... With the presence of the NATO battlegroup at Tapa, its in-progress expansion into and integration with an Estonian Defense Forces divisional structure, and major commitments at sea and in the air as well, Estonia is now in fact the British military's largest overseas deployment globally.

10.08.23 NEWS ... British-Estonian military relations in general, and more specifically those with the Estonian Defense Forces (EDF) commander of a planned division which will incorporate a British Army brigade, remain strong, British military and diplomatic leaders say, rejecting claims made in a recent piece from daily Postimees.

10.08.23 NEWS ... The government on Thursday backed a proposal by Minister of Defense Hanno Pevkur to send small arms and ammunition to Ukraine.

09.08.23 NEWS ... Russians took a Swedish-donated CV90 infantry fighting vehicle from Ukraine. Estonia has a different model but the same battle machine, but the defense forces aren't worried the Russians will learn anything new.

08.08.23 NEWS ... A new drone surveillance station will be built on the former site of the Soviet T-34 tank monument which stood on the outskirts of Narva, on the Russian border, and was removed in 2022.

07.08.23 NEWS ... The celebration of Poland's Armed Forces Day on August 15 promises to be the largest parade of Polish military forces since 1989.

07.08.23 NEWS ... Aid from international organizations and allied nations, mainly the United States, meant to strengthen Estonia's defensive capacity has grown by leaps and bounds in the past two years.

04.08.23 NEWS ... Major Kristjan Muld has taken over command of the Defense League (Kaitseliit) Western Defense District (Lääne Malev), replacing Major Andres Välli, who is moving into the Estonian Defense Forces' reserve.

03.08.23 NEWS ... Iraq's security is in a better state than it has been at any time in the past, thanks in part to the valuable contribution made there by Estonian military personnel, Minister of Defense Hanno Pevkur (Reform) says.

03.08.23 NEWS ... The Ministry of Defense is analyzing whether it would be practicable to manufacture munitions in Estonia and how to support relevant efforts getting off the ground. While an analysis is expected this fall, it could take years for munitions production to start.

02.08.23 NEWS ... The Spanish Air Force (SAF) took over NATO's rotating Baltic Air Policing mission at Ämari on Wednesday, replacing the UK's RAF which has been patrolling the skies for the last few months.

02.08.23 NEWS ... Members of the Wagner Group, a Russian mercenary organization, may be heading next to the West African nation of Niger following a military coup in that country last week, Andres Unga, head of the Africa and Middle East office at the Estonian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, says.

01.08.23 NEWS ... Under the terms of a new draft regulation, the Ministry of Defense will be liable to pay compensation to local governments whose territory includes military training areas, according to a specific formula.

01.08.23 NEWS ... The flying of drones or other unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) near to Estonian Defense Forces (EDF) land can lead to misdemeanor proceedings and a fine of up to €1,200, if the operator lacks a permit and/or is flying in an area not specifically set aside for the purpose.

30.07.23 NEWS ... Security experts Kalev Stoicescu and Rainer Saks believe that Wagner troops near Belarus' borders with Poland and Lithuania are a mere provocation and pose no real threat, Delfi reports.