Herem says Estonia must accept risks to build defence capabilities quickly
Tuesday 3rd November 2026 on 13:31 in
Estonia
Estonia must rapidly develop some defence capabilities in response to the threat from Russia, even if maintaining them later proves difficult, Defence Minister Martin Herem told ERR.
Herem was responding to a warning by Meelis Oidsalu in an opinion article in Postimees that Estonia’s military development plan could exceed the country’s means, with spending decisions made before elections that fail to account for future upkeep costs. Herem said those concerns were partly justified, but that Estonia had to accept some risk.
“The coming years will be quite dangerous,” Herem said, adding that if the war in Ukraine ends, Russia could threaten Estonia. The country may therefore need to develop certain capabilities quickly and later place them in storage if maintaining them becomes difficult.
He said the issue was not whether Estonia could afford the costs, but how to maintain the capabilities it acquires. Equipment that is used less will wear out less, he said, noting that some allied forces restrict how far their tanks can travel each year, which can prevent them from using the vehicles in exercises.
Herem presented proposals for updating the national defence development plan at a Tuesday meeting of the president’s National Defence Council. He said the military’s tests and experiments, as well as lessons from Ukraine, had produced new insights on how manoeuvre units should fight and how air defence requirements have changed. The proposals also address intelligence capabilities.
Herem said the changes did not mean that earlier decisions were wrong, but reflected new knowledge. The plan should set out objectives, methods and responsibilities, he said, and not serve only as a shopping list.
He added that new capabilities might be funded by replacing earlier proposals rather than increasing spending. For example, Estonia could buy fewer of some types of missiles and acquire other air-defence systems, including aircraft and air-to-air systems, then adjust the balance between them.