Swedish arms maker to set up major ammunition plant in Estonia

BERLIN — A Swedish defense company is set to build a major 155-millimeter artillery shell factory in northeastern Estonia, a development that would represent the most significant foreign investment in the country’s nascent defense industrial base.

Estonian Defense Minister Hanno Pevkur confirmed last week that an agreement had been reached with an unnamed manufacturer to construct a large-caliber ammunition plant at the Põhja-Kiviõli defense industry park, with the investor committing at least €300 million ($346 million) to the project. The plant will produce short-, medium- and long-range munitions.

According to Estonia’s public broadcaster ERR, the company is Swedish. That narrows the field significantly: The main company in question would likely be BAE Systems’ subfirm Bofors, a storied Swedish artillery and ammunition producer. Bofors was split around the turn of the century between its artillery branch, which ultimately went to BAE, and the missile section, which went to Saab.

When contacted by ERR, BAE Systems spokesperson Matthew Knowles declined to confirm or deny the company’s involvement, saying only that Estonia is an important partner to the company and directing questions to the government.

Pevkur said the company had been promised confidentiality until contracts are formally signed, which is expected to happen in mid-April. He confirmed the firm is neither South Korea’s Hanwha Aerospace nor the U.S. giant Lockheed Martin.

The planned factory at Põhja-Kiviõli is one piece of a broader and rapidly expanding Estonian defense industry effort. The Ermistu defense industry park in Pärnumaa is already set to host four companies − including U.K.-linked Odin Defence and Estonian explosives maker Nitrotol − with production expected to begin as early as 2027. Separately, Tallinn has set up a state-owned company, Hexest AS, to produce RDX explosives, a key component in 155mm shell filling, with that facility expected to be in action by 2028.

The push is a consequence of both Russia’s war in Ukraine and the persistent ammunition shortages that have exposed the risks of over-reliance on a handful of producers. Estonia, which borders Russia and has among the highest defense spending as a share of GDP in NATO, is betting that sovereign production capacity is worth the price tag.

Linus Höller is Defense News' Europe correspondent and OSINT investigator. He reports on the arms deals, sanctions, and geopolitics shaping Europe and the world. He holds master’s degrees in WMD nonproliferation, terrorism studies, and international relations, and works in four languages: English, German, Russian, and Spanish.

柏林——一家瑞典国防公司计划在爱沙尼亚东北部建造一座大型 155 毫米炮弹工厂，这将是该国新兴国防工业基地最重要的外国投资。

爱沙尼亚国防部长汉诺·佩夫库尔上周证实，已与一家未透露名称的制造商达成协议，将在波赫亚-基维奥利国防工业园区建设一座大口径弹药厂，该投资者承诺为该项目至少投资3亿欧元（约合3.46亿美元）。该厂将生产短程、中程和远程弹药。

据爱沙尼亚公共广播公司ERR报道，这家公司是瑞典公司。这大大缩小了范围：涉案的主要公司很可能是BAE系统公司的子公司博福斯，这是一家历史悠久的瑞典火炮和弹药生产商。博福斯在世纪之交被拆分，其火炮部门最终归BAE所有，导弹部门则归萨博所有。

当 ERR 联系 BAE Systems 发言人 Matthew Knowles 时，他拒绝证实或否认该公司是否参与其中，只表示爱沙尼亚是该公司的重要合作伙伴，并将问题转给了政府。

佩夫库尔表示，该公司已获得保密承诺，直至正式签署合同，预计将于四月中旬完成。他确认，该公司既不是韩国的韩华航空航天公司，也不是美国的巨头洛克希德·马丁公司。

位于波赫亚-基维奥利（Põhja-Kiviõli）的拟建工厂是爱沙尼亚国防工业快速扩张版图的一部分。位于帕尔努县（Pärnumaa）的埃尔米斯图（Ermistu）国防工业园区已确定入驻四家公司，其中包括与英国有关联的奥丁防务公司（Odin Defence）和爱沙尼亚炸药制造商尼特罗托尔（Nitrotol），预计最早将于2027年开始投产。此外，塔林已成立一家国有企业Hexest AS，用于生产RDX炸药，RDX是155毫米炮弹装药的关键成分，该工厂预计将于2028年投入运营。

这一举措既源于俄罗斯在乌克兰的战争，也源于持续的弹药短缺，后者暴露了过度依赖少数生产商的风险。与俄罗斯接壤的爱沙尼亚，其国防开支占GDP的比例在北约成员国中名列前茅，该国押注自主生产能力物有所值。

林努斯·霍勒是《防务新闻》的欧洲记者和开源情报调查员。他报道影响欧洲乃至全球的军火交易、制裁和地缘政治。他拥有大规模杀伤性武器不扩散、恐怖主义研究和国际关系三个硕士学位，并精通英语、德语、俄语和西班牙语四种语言。