Estonia Overhauls Defense with New Ships and Fortified Border
Estonia is undertaking a sweeping national defense reform, planning to nearly double its military budget to 5.6% of GDP by 2026, procure new naval vessels, and transition to a 12-month conscription model in response to a deteriorating regional security climate.
- —Estonia is undertaking significant defense reforms, including procuring new naval vessels, reorganizing its conscription model, and building a new military base, in response to a perceived worsening security situation.
- —The Estonian Defense Forces (EDF) will transition to a 12-month conscription service model from 2027, aiming to call up 4,100 conscripts annually, with conscripts primarily used for combat duty only when necessary.
- —The Ministry of Defense plans to increase the number of places at the Estonian Military Academy from 90 to 150 and will allocate 0.25% of GDP to support Ukraine in the coming year.
- —Estonia's defense budget is set to nearly double from €1.38 billion (3.3% of GDP) in the previous year to €2.8 billion (5.6% of GDP) in 2026.
- —Twelve Estonian defense companies received €1.8 million in project development support, the largest sum awarded to date, focusing on areas like counter-drone technology and electronic warfare.
Recap
Estonia's defense reforms represent a fundamental realignment of its national security posture, driven by the assessment that the pre-2022 regional stability is permanently gone. The scale of the spending increase, infrastructure fortification, and personnel restructuring indicates a long-term commitment to national resilience and a more robust contribution to NATO's eastern flank. This is not a temporary measure but a structural adaptation to a new, more volatile security environment.