The Center for Defense Investment (RKK) has announced a €693-million long-term military vehicles and plant procurement, the largest military procurement made by Estonia to date.
The Estonian Defense Forces (EDF) second infantry brigade is to see a planned €3.7-million heavy equipment procurement slated for 2023 brought forward to this year, ETV news show Aktuaalne kaamera (AK) reported Sunday evening.
The plant is primarily engineering equipment used in constructing fortications, shelters, trenches and other positions, which had previously been carried out in training exercises by private sector firms.
This also led to a saving of around a million euros, some of which was used to purchase two bulldozers, AK reported, and will also be used in other military engineering procurements.
The kit should be available as early as this year s Spring Storm mass exercise, AK reported.
A total of 100 military vehicles, primarily trucks and landrover-type equipment, arrived in Estonia Tuesday, ETV news show Aktuaalne kaamera (AK) reports.
The vehicles were procured by the State Defense Investment Center (RKIK), and Tuesday s shipment, at the port of Paldiski, west of Tallinn, was the second batch of a €2.2-million tender.
The first consignment arrived last year.
Tuesday s order totaled 80 four-wheel-drive off-road vehicles and 20 trucks, all procured from the Netherlands. The vehicles are used, which the RKIK says is a more cost-effective way of procuring support vehicles.
RKIK vehicle and equipment category manager Toomas Kalda told ERR that: Buying used wheeled vehicles is extremely sensible . it is more rational and effective to spend limited taxpayer resources budgeted to us on weapons that actually play a much bigger role on the battlefield.