The Estonian Department of Defence believes an agreement with its Finnish counterpart to integrate their coastal missile systems will ultimately see the two nations control the entire Gulf of Finland.
Speaking with Finnish journalists, Estonian Minister of Defence, Hanno Pevkur said once the preliminary agreement was put into operation “the Baltic Sea will be NATO’s internal sea when Finland and Sweden join the Alliance”.
Mr Pevkur (pictured) agreed the move could potentially cut off Russia’s naval headquarters in St Petersburg from its Baltic fleet, at least by sea.
Kaliningrad would become Russia’s only access to this important body of water.
It is a small enclave that Russia acquired during World War II, located between Poland and Lithuania, and is home to Russia’s Baltic Sea Fleet.
The Minsiter said the flight range of Estonian and Finnish missiles was greater than the width of the Gulf of Finland.
“This means that we can connect our missile defences and share all our information with each other,” Mr Pevkur said.
Finland is already equipped with surface-to-sea missiles, while Estonia is due to take receipt of Blue Spear missiles from Proteus Advanced Systems, a joint venture between Israel and Singapore.
When signing the deal to purchase the Blue Spear missiles last year, Minister of Defence, Kalle Laanet described them as “one of the most hi-tech weapon systems of all time”.
Estonia’s Chief of Navy, Juri Saska said the Blue Spear weapon system “will form the cornerstone of Estonian naval defence for decades to come”.
Tallinn, 16 August 2022
