Baltic states call for strengthening NATO air defense due to Russian threat
Photo: Estonian Defense Minister Hanno Pevkur (Getty Images)
The Baltic states have called on NATO to improve the air defense of member states bordering Russia amid a critical shortage of long-range missile systems in the alliance, Bloomberg reports.
“Clearly the border nations are in the most critical situation,” Estonian Defense Minister Hanno Pevkur said in an interview with Bloomberg. - “If the border nations are defended then definitely Berlin and Paris are also significantly more secure."
The ability to defeat ballistic missiles is one of the biggest gaps in the allies' defense. Long-range weapons such as the Patriot system, several of which NATO allies have donated to Ukraine, are also extremely expensive.
In July, NATO headquarters sent proposals to its member states for new defense capabilities, with an overall alliance agreement expected in the second half of 2025. The proposals set out spending commitments for the next 20 years.
Increased defense spending
Last week, Estonian Army Commander-in-Chief Andrus Merilo called on the government to purchase additional ammunition worth 1.6 billion euros to enable long-range strikes.
Without this, a military conflict with Russia would mean catastrophic losses for Estonia, the commander said in a document that is not subject to disclosure, according to public broadcaster ERR.
Estonia recently introduced a defense tax, and the country is already the second largest country to spend on defense as a share of economic output in NATO, after Poland. Last week, Pevkur said that Estonia's defense spending could potentially rise to 4-5% of GDP in the coming years.
“We have already acquired over €750 million ($825 million) worth of ammunition in the last two years, which is more than the total of the previous 30 years,” Pevkur says, adding that another 3 billion euros are planned for ammunition purchases until 2028.
Russian drones
The need for air defenses was underscored over the weekend when two Russian drones intruded into Latvian and Romanian territory. Latvia said the country's ability to identify drones in its airspace is limited, and Defense Minister Andris Sprūds called for an increased allied presence during a meeting with top NATO officials on September 11.
NATO aircraft patrol the airspace of the three Baltic states: Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania, none of which have fighter jets. After Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Baltic officials also requested a regular presence of allied air defense systems.
Lithuanian Defense Minister Laurynas Kasčiūnas proposed expanding the powers of NATO's Baltic air patrols to allow fighter jets to immediately take off and destroy drones.
