Estonia eyes kick-starting a domestic ammunition industry

MILAN — Estonian leaders are assessing options for making the Baltic country, known for its cyber-savvy startup scene, into a producer of ammunition for the exploding European market, according to a senior defense official.

“Ukraine needs more ammunition and countries have lots of stocks to refill as well,” Tuuli Duneton, undersecretary for defense policy, told Defense News in an interview. She was referring to the dynamic by which European nations are donating rounds to Kyiv while at the same time ramping up production for their own forces. “The Estonian government made a decision that, in principle, Estonia could have a defense industry in the area of ammunition.”

Estonia depends heavily on imports when it comes to military goods, including ammunition. The government will need a constant supply of rounds for the weapons purchases lined up in the aftermath of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

For example, Estonia launched a tender last month for the acquisition of over $300 million worth of 155mm artillery shells.

“We currently do not have any ammunition production within the country, [hence] we are heavily dependent on other European countries for this,” Duneton said.

She explained that two courses of action are on the table to establish domestic production.

The first one would involve an Estonian defense company setting up a dedicated facility for producing ammo, according to the official. As no local companies know how to do this, it may require a transfer of technology from a firm with the proper know-how, which can be costly.

The second option would entail the establishment of a manufacturing plant in Estonia by a European company, preferably a privately owned one.

“We are quite open in this area, but what we do not foresee is for a state-owned firm to establish production in Estonia. … We have a different approach on this than some of our neighbors,” Duneton said.

“The Estonian state and government are very liberal, and we are a highly market-based society, so we appreciate the competition as it lowers the price of ammunition or what you are producing,” she added.

Estonian defense officials have already started assessing suitable locations for either option.

Last month, Indrek Sirp, special advisor for the defense industry development at the Estonian Ministry of Defense, told local media that five possible sites in the northern and western part of the country had been proposed.

“The next step would be to showcase to the municipalities in question key indicators including the planned facilities land area, size of hazardous zone, logistics and energy connections as well as proximity of available local labor,” Sirp said during an interview with the Estonian newspaper ERR.

According to statements made by the Estonian Defense Minister Hanno Pevkur in August, Tallin has provided Ukraine with military assistance worth more than $441 million, including ammunition.

Elisabeth Gosselin-Malo was a Europe correspondent for Defense News. She covers a wide range of topics related to military procurement and international security, and specializes in reporting on the aviation sector. She is based in Milan, Italy.

米兰——据一位高级国防官员透露，爱沙尼亚领导人正在评估各种方案，以期将这个以网络创业氛围浓厚而闻名的波罗的海国家变成蓬勃发展的欧洲市场的弹药生产国。

“乌克兰需要更多弹药，而各国也拥有大量库存可以补充，”国防政策副部长图利·杜内顿在接受《防务新闻》采访时表示。她指的是欧洲各国一方面向基辅捐赠弹药，另一方面也在加紧生产本国军队所需的弹药。“爱沙尼亚政府已经决定，原则上，爱沙尼亚可以拥有自己的弹药工业。”

爱沙尼亚在军事物资方面严重依赖进口，包括弹药。在俄罗斯入侵乌克兰之后，爱沙尼亚政府需要持续不断的弹药供应，以应对计划中的武器采购。

例如，爱沙尼亚上个月发起了一项招标，采购价值超过 3 亿美元的 155 毫米炮弹。

“我们目前国内没有任何弹药生产能力，因此我们在这方面严重依赖其他欧洲国家，”杜内顿说。

她解释说，目前有两种方案可以实现国内生产。

据这位官员透露，第一种方案是让一家爱沙尼亚国防公司建立专门的弹药生产设施。由于当地没有公司掌握这项技术，可能需要从一家拥有相关技术的公司进行技术转让，而这可能会耗费大量资金。

第二种选择是由一家欧洲公司（最好是私营公司）在爱沙尼​​亚建立一家制造工厂。

“我们在这一领域持相当开放的态度，但我们预计不会有国有企业在爱沙尼亚设立生产基地。……我们在这方面的做法与一些邻国不同，”杜内顿说道。

她补充说：“爱沙尼亚国家和政府非常开放，我们是一个高度市场化的社会，所以我们赞赏竞争，因为它能降低弹药或你所生产产品的价格。”

爱沙尼亚国防官员已经开始评估两种方案的合适地点。

上个月，爱沙尼亚国防部国防工业发展特别顾问因德雷克·西尔普告诉当地媒体，已提出该国北部和西部地区的五个可能选址。

“下一步将向相关市政当局展示关键指标，包括规划设施的土地面积、危险区域的大小、物流和能源连接以及当地可用劳动力的邻近程度，”Sirp 在接受爱沙尼亚报纸 ERR 采访时表示。

根据爱沙尼亚国防部长汉诺·佩夫库尔8月份发表的声明，塔林已向乌克兰提供了价值超过4.41亿美元的军事援助，其中包括弹药。

伊丽莎白·戈斯林-马洛曾任《防务新闻》欧洲通讯员。她的报道涵盖军事采购和国际安全等广泛领域，尤其擅长航空领域的报道。她常驻意大利米兰。