The Estonian Centre for Defence Investments (ECDI) has delivered Polish-made Piorun short range manportable air defence systems (MANPADS) to Estonian Defence Forces under a €103 million ($113 million) deal.
The deliveries to Tallinn, which started at the beginning of 2024, were announced by ECDI on Monday and follow a framework agreement signed with manufacturer Mesko in the autumn of 2022.
At that time, Mesko said it would supply Estonia with 300 Piorun missiles and 100 launchers. Mesko forecast a production output of 1,000 Piorun missiles in 2023, up from 600 units in 2022.
“This is the first joint defence procurement between Estonia and Poland, with the advantages of quick delivery and a relatively low cost compared to the value of the destroyed target,” said ECDI in a statement. “The technical compatibility of Polish weapon systems, crucial for the security of our region, was also a decisive factor” in Estonia deciding to acquire them.
Piorun is designed to strike fixed wing aircraft, helicopters and drones and can hit targets up to eight kilometres away. ECDI said the weapon is used in Poland and Ukraine and described it as “one of the most successful systems in the Ukrainian war,” noting the weapons are “much easier to deploy” and require operators to train with them for a matter of hours before taking to combat operations.TIM MARTIN
