Estonia joins Poland in buying Piorun anti-aircraft missiles

WARSAW, Poland — Estonia on Wednesday signed a deal to acquire the Piorun weapon, a short-range, man-portable air defense system already on order by Poland.

Estonia’s Centre for Defence Investment and Poland’s state-owned defense company Mesko signed the agreement, which comes about six months after Russia invaded Ukraine . The deal was inked in the presence of Polish Defence Minister Mariusz Błaszczak and Estonian Defence Minister Hanno Pevkur.

“Deliveries of Pioruns to Estonia will begin next year,” Błaszczak said in a statement provided from his ministry. “We are trying to build resilience in the situation in which the world has found itself, in which Ukraine was attacked by Russia.”

Since the war’s outbreak on Feb. 24, the Ukrainian military has operated Piorun MANPADS to shoot down Russian aircraft, drones and missiles. The system can hit targets at an altitude of up to 4 kilometers (2.5 miles) and has a range of up to 6.5 kilometers (4 miles), according to its manufacturer.

Under the deal, Mesko will deliver 100 Piorun gripstocks and 300 missiles to Estonia, according to the Polish statement. The system is an upgraded version of the Grom MANPAD.

Training on the Piorun for Estonian forces is expected to begin in 2023, followed by first deliveries in the second half of that year.

The contract, Pevkur said in a statement, “is a leap forward for the Estonian short-range air defence capability, which in turn is an upgrade for Estonian self-defence capability as a whole. In addition, this procurement is also a landmark for our defence cooperation, both in terms of strengthening regional security as well as bilateral cooperation.”

Estonia allocated €103 million (U.S. $102 million) to boost its air defense capacities, according to the Estonian statement.

In June, Poland’s Defence Ministry placed an order with Mesko to acquire 600 Piorun gripstocks and 3,500 missiles under a deal worth about 3.5 billion zloty (U.S. $735.8 million). Mesko said deliveries to the Polish military are to begin this year.

The company specializes in making missile systems and ammunition, and is a subsidiary of Poland’s state-run defense group PGZ.

Jaroslaw Adamowski is the Poland correspondent for Defense News.

波兰华沙——爱沙尼亚周三签署了一项协议，购买“皮奥伦”武器，这是一种短程、便携式防空系统，波兰此前已经订购了该系统。

爱沙尼亚国防投资中心和波兰国有国防公司梅斯科签署了这项协议，该协议是在俄罗斯入侵乌克兰约六个月后签署的。波兰国防部长马里乌什·布瓦什恰克和爱沙尼亚国防部长汉诺·佩夫库尔出席了签字仪式。

“明年将开始向爱沙尼亚交付皮奥伦装甲车，”布拉什恰克在其部门提供的一份声明中表示。“我们正努力在当前世界局势下增强抵御能力，尤其是在乌克兰遭受俄罗斯攻击的情况下。”

自2月24日战争爆发以来，乌克兰军方一直使用“先锋”（Piorun）便携式防空导弹系统击落俄罗斯飞机、无人机和导弹。据制造商称，该系统可打击4公里（2.5英里）高度的目标，射程可达6.5公里（4英里）。

根据波兰方面的声明，梅斯科公司将根据协议向爱沙尼亚交付100套“皮奥伦”（Piorun）导弹系统握把和300枚导弹。该系统是“雷鸣”（Grom）便携式防空导弹系统的升级版。

预计爱沙尼亚军队将于 2​​023 年开始接受 Piorun 装甲车的训练，并于同年下半年开始交付首批车辆。

佩夫库尔在一份声明中表示，这份合同“是爱沙尼亚短程防空能力的一次飞跃，进而提升了爱沙尼亚整体的自卫能力。此外，此次采购也是我们防务合作的一个里程碑，无论从加强地区安全还是双边合作的角度来看都是如此。”

根据爱沙尼亚方面的声明，爱沙尼亚已拨款 1.03 亿欧元（1.02 亿美元）用于提升其防空能力。

今年6月，波兰国防部向梅斯科公司订购了600套“皮奥伦”反坦克导弹系统和3500枚导弹，合同金额约为35亿兹罗提（约合7.358亿美元）。梅斯科公司表示，将于今年开始向波兰军方交付装备。

该公司专门生产导弹系统和弹药，是波兰国营国防集团 PGZ 的子公司。

Jaroslaw Adamowski 是《防务新闻》驻波兰记者。