The Estonian Defence Investment Centre has delivered Polish Piorun man-portable anti-aircraft missile sets to the Estonian Defence Forces, significantly increasing the short-range air defence capability and overall defence potential of the Estonian army.

The Piorun is a Polish-developed anti-aircraft weapon system that will enter service in 2019. It is capable of firing at targets at a distance of eight kilometres. The system is used both in Poland and Ukraine, where it has proven its reliability, being one of the most effective weapon systems during battles against the Russian army.

Mentioning the advantages of the Polish combat equipment, attention was drawn to the much easier handling and operation, possible after just a few hours of training.

‘The Piorun anti-aircraft missiles provide additional air protection not only for manoeuvre units, but also for facilities that are not in the immediate vicinity of the front line but are important from the point of view of the country’s defence’, said Lt Col Tanel Lelov, head of the air and missile defence section of the Estonian division to which the Polish equipment was delivered.

Lt Col Lelov added that in Ukraine, the Piorun missiles proved effective against most airborne attack means and certainly the principles of their use in this war will be considered during the training of Estonian troops.

The order is worth €103 million, which the Estonian government has allocated from its military defence strengthening package. At the beginning of 2023, the Estonian authorities decided to spend at least 3 % of GDP on defence. At the end of the year, Defence Minister Hanno Pevkur announced that Estonia would spend around a quarter of its defence budget on the purchase of munitions over the next four years.

Arkadiusz Słomczyński