Six HIMARS multiple launch rocket systems were handed over to the Estonian Defense Forces at Amari Air Base on April 30, significantly boosting Estonia’s long-range strike capability. The acquisition of six HIMARS systems is one of Estonia’s largest-ever arms procurements. The Estonian Center for Defense Investments (RKIK) signed the contract with the U.S. Defense Security…
A defense industry park planned near Parnu could largely be built underground, members of the Riigikogu’s defense committee said, drawing on the lessons of the Russian war in Ukraine. Construction for the base infrastructure of the facility, near Tostamaa, Parnu County, is planned to start this year, with a current budget of EUR 50 million.…
Gren Eesti, the district heating provider in Tartu, will raise the price of heat by nearly 10% next month. The company says the price increase is necessary to cover operating expenses and investment costs. While the current sales price of heat for Tartu residents is EUR 58.97 per megawatt-hour, in a month it will rise…
Estonia has opted to develop its defense against ballistic missiles, likely meaning an investment of over 1 billion euros. The top contenders for procurement currently include air defense systems made by Israel, the U.S., including the Patriot system and the French-Italian consortium Eurosam. Defense Minister Hanno Pevkur (Reform) in September 2023 signed an agreement in…
Mild winters prevent bears from hibernating for long. Large numbers of beehives and silage bales have yet to be ravaged this year, but many beekeepers have given up on reporting bear damage due to the bureaucratic hassle involved in getting compensated. Estonia’s brown bears have woken up from hibernation. They’ve already been spotted on trail…
Tallinn is commissioning articles from BBC StoryWorks to market the city as a sustainable capital. The city sees this as an opportunity to attract companies interested in innovation, as well as investments and skilled workers to Tallinn. According to Krista Kampus, head of the EU and foreign cooperation department at Tallinn’s Strategy Center, the opportunity…
Consumer prices in Estonia rose by 5.04% YoY in February and by 1.3% compared to January, data from Statistics Estonia showed. In January, Estonia’s annual consumer price index (CPI) growth was 3.9%, ranking the country fourth in the eurozone in terms of inflation. In February 2023, the annual inflation rate was 4.2%. Lauri Veski, head…