The Estonian government decided to increase the number of the wartime Defense Forces to 43,700 people.

The Ministry of Defense of Estonia reported this.

Prior to this, the wartime Defense Forces consisted of 26,700 people.

Such scaling incorporates several important components:

• the number of ground forces will be doubled due to 10,5 thousand soldiers;
• an additional reserve of 4 thousand soldiers will be created to reinforce the existing units and restore the combat readiness of personnel;
• units that will be able to engage the enemy by indirect fire, and additional air defense units are being added.

“From the national defense perspective, it is crucial how many wartime positions Estonia has. The Government of the Republic has set a new limit of 43 700. The main increase will come from the increase in the ground defense – over 10 000 reservists will be assigned to the ground defense. It is now necessary to ensure the readiness and continuous training of this force so that it is ready to guarantee the preservation of Estonia’s freedom against any threat,” Hanno Pevkur, Estonian Defence Minister, explained.

He also added that large-scale Ussisõnad exercises are being organized to prepare the Estonian Defense Force and the Estonian Defence League (Kaitseliit). During these exercises, reservists and ground forces will undergo advanced training.

It is emphasized that wartime units can only be appointed after the declaration of mobilization. Thus, the upper limit of wartime also determines how much personnel the Commander of the Defense Forces will have at his disposal upon declaration of martial law, without needing to wait for government orders.

Wartime personnel are prepared through conscription and reserve service.

Estonian intentions to increase the number of wartime Defense Forces were first reported in March this year.

Previously, the Estonian Ministry of Defense agreed with the Israeli company Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) on the purchase of loitering ammunition. This is one of the largest deals in the defense field that Estonia has ever made, with a value of over 100 million euros.

A Mini Harop loitering munition was presented during the signing of the contract.