Today in Tartu, Minister of Defence Hanno Pevkur opened the Electronic Warfare Live defence industry conference, where he emphasised that due to Russian aggression it is extremely important to develop early warning and defence systems.
“Russia’s war in Ukraine is a war against Europe. This is a war against democracy and the free world. Russia is the biggest security threat to all of Europe,” said the Minister of Defence. “The war in Ukraine has made us all think about how to develop early warning and defence systems throughout Europe,” Pevkur said.
He added that Estonia is investing 2% of GDP in defence expenditures, which will increase to 2.8% over the next four years. The same trend applies to all countries along NATO’s eastern flank. “This means tens of billions of euros of investment in the safety of residents in the region. This presents a real challenge for the defence industry – how to increase the efficiency of the industry and accelerate the delivery of innovative solutions to users,” added Pevkur.
The Minister of Defence noted that in addition to conventional military weapons the war in Ukraine has shown the importance of early warning, based on electronic warfare and electromagnetic spectrum technologies. “Therefore, cooperation between countries in the defence industry is extremely important,” stated Pevkur.
Electronic Warfare Live is an international defence industry exhibition and demo event, which is held in Estonia for the fourth time in cooperation with the UK company Tangent Link, the Defence Forces, the Estonian Academy of Security Sciences, and the Estonian Defence and Aerospace Industry Association.
At the event, 38 companies are demonstrating their electronic warfare equipment, including 12 companies from Estonia, with delegations from 32 countries taking part. Nearly 400 participants are participating in the event.
It is the goal of the Ministry of Defence to support export opportunities for Estonian companies, to give the Defence Forces and experts from other defence and security agencies the opportunity to view and test world-class electronic warfare products, and to promote relations with the international community.
Photos: https://www.flickr.com/photos/kaitseministeerium_mod_estonia/albums/72177720302200720
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