Estonia’s Growing Demand for US Military Equipment ‘Organic, Logical’

© Flickr / U.S. Army Alaska (USARAK)The FGM-148 Javelin Anti-tank Guided Missile
The FGM-148 Javelin Anti-tank Guided Missile - Sputnik International
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The commander of the Estonian Defense League commented on the US approval of a possible $55 million sale of the Javelin anti-tank missile system to Estonia, saying that purchase of additional US military equipment was a part of normal and logical approach to defense systems.

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WASHINGTON, January 20 (Sputnik) — Additional US military equipment sales to Estonia are part of a natural process of the country's military force development, Brigadier General Meelis Kiili, the commander of the Estonian Defense League, told Sputnik Tuesday.

"We always elaborate what kind of weapons systems we need. We always elaborate what kind of equipment is needed," Kiili told Sputnik when asked whether Estonia had requested additional military equipment from the United States. Growing Estonian defense needs are an "organic and logical approach to defense systems," he said.

Asked specifically whether Estonia had concluded a military equipment deal with the United States for the Javelin anti-tank missile system, Kiili said he could not provide details. He added, however, that "from a field commander's perspective, these are good systems."

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The US Defense Security Cooperation Agency reported in late 2014 that the US State Department had approved a possible $55 million sale of the Javelin anti-tank missile system to Estonia. The missiles were requested by the Estonian government.

The Javelin deal was announced shortly after the European Defense Agency signed a framework agreement to supply anti-tank ammunition to Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, the Czech Republic and Poland.

The Javelin anti-tank missile system was adopted by the United States Army in 1996. The fire and forget missile system allows the operator to seek shelter or to change the position right after the missile launch, thus increasing the chances of survival of the operator and the system as a whole. Each system has the effective firing range of 75 to 2,500 meters and costs about $250,000. It is currently used by Bahrain, France, Israel, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Kingdom, the UAE and a number of other countries.

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