| Estonian Defence Forces Eesti Kaitsevägi |
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 Estonian Defence Forces emblem and flag |
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| Branches of service | |
 Estonian Army Estonian Navy Estonian Air Force
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| Leadership | |
| Commander-in-Chief: | Major General Ants Laaneots |
| Civilian authority: | Defence Minister Jaak Aaviksoo |
| Chief of staff: | Colonel Neeme Väli |
| Personnel | |
| Active personnel: | Military:
5,600 Army 350 Navy 250 Air Force Paramilitary: 10,000 Defence League 4,400 Young Eagles 3,400 Home Daughters 900 Women's Home Defence Reserve: 38,000 Reserv Army |
| Military age population: | 341,000 (2007 est.) |
| Total fit for service: | 277,000 (2007 est.) |
| Reaching military age annually: | 11,500 (2007 est.) |
| Military age: | 17 years of age (voluntary) 18 years of age (compulsory) |
| Conscript service: | 8 or 11 months |
| Industry | |
| Annual spending: | € 260 million (FY07) $ 365 million (FY07) |
| Percent of GDP spent on military: | 1.74% (2007 est.) |
| Major domestic suppliers: |  AS E-ARSENAL (explosives, grenades, smoke grenades, anti-tank ammunition, naval mines, movable communication links, combat equipment, practice targets, military furniture) OÜ ELI (electronics, 3D simulators) OÜ ENGLO (electronics, minehunter Scout, demolition machines Guerilla and Mars, Chemical weapons indicators Radon, Signal and Pakri) |
| Major international suppliers: |  Germany United States France Sweden Finland Denmark |
| History | |
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1918-1920 Estonian Liberation War 1944-1978 Estonian Guerilla War 2003- War in Afghanistan 2003-War in Iraq |
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| Ranks and insignia | |
| Estonian military ranks [[1]]
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The Estonian Kaitsevägi ("Defence Force" in English; listen is the name of the unified armed forces of Estonia. The Kaitsevägi is a defence force consisting of an Army (Maavägi), Navy (Merevägi), Air Force (Õhuvägi), Defence League (Kaitseliit) and Peace Operations Centre (Rahuoperatsioonide Keskus) branches. Estonian Defence Forces policy aims to guarantee the preservation of the independence and sovereignty of the state, the integrity of its land area, territorial waters and airspace and its constitutional order.
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General information
The average size of the Estonian Defence Forces in peacetime is about 5,600 of whom about 2,200 are conscripts. The Defence League has more than 10,000 members. The planned size of the operational (wartime) structure at the moment is 16,000 personnel.
The Estonian Defence Forces are a reserve force, and as such, "all physically and mentally healthy male citizens" must undergo compulsory military service for the duration of either 8 or 11 months, during which time the conscripts are taught the basic skills needed to be mobilized into active duty.
History
In April 1917 the mobilization department of the Russian General Staff issued an order to concentrate Estonian military personnel in their homeland. The Bureau of Estonian Military Personnel, headed by Arnold Jürgens, was established in Tallinn. The first Estonian military unit was formed on the 20 May 1917 when the Russian Minister of War gave his official permission to form the First Estonian Regiment. Colonel Aleksander Tõnisson was appointed to command the regiment which comprised 32 officers and 3372 soldiers. The formation of the First Estonian Regiment was transferred to Rakvere where the unit achieved its maximum numbers of 118 officers and 10,151 soldiers. Throughout its existence 216 officers and 11,538 soldiers served in the regiment. The regiment was the base for the creation of national soldiers, officers, military units and eventually the national armed forces. After the German Revolution, between 11 and 14 November 1918 the representatives of Germany formally handed over political power to the national government of Estonia. A new military invasion by the Bolshevist Russia followed a few days later, marking the beginning of the Estonian War of Independence. The small, poorly armed Estonian defense force was initially pushed back by the Red Army into the vicinity of Tallinn, the capital. A mere 34 kilometers separated Tallinn and the front line. Partly due to the timely arrival of a shipment of arms brought by a British naval squadron the Bolsheviks were stopped. In January 1919, the Estonian armed forces launched a counteroffensive under Commander-in-Chief Johan Laidoner. The Estonian Army was supported by the Royal Navy as well as Finnish, Swedish and Danish volunteers. By the end of February 1919, the Red Army had been expelled from all of the territory of Estonia. On 2 February, 1920, the Peace Treaty of Tartu was signed by the Republic of Estonia and Bolshevist Russia. After winning the Estonian Liberation War against Soviet Russia and German Freikorps volunteers, Estonia maintained its independence for twenty-two years. On 3 September 1991 the Supreme Council of the Republic of Estonia decided to restore the Defence Forces. From 1991 to 2001 the Estonian Defence Forces have restored and formed over 30 old and new military units.
National defence policy
Its main goals remain the development and maintenance of a credible capability to defend the nation's vital interests and development of the EDF in a way that ensures their interoperability with the armed forces of NATO and EU member states and their capability to participate in the full range of Alliance missions. In peacetime the main tasks of EDF are to monitor and maintain control over airspace, to maintain combat readiness, to train conscripts and develop reserve units, to participate in NATO and UN-led international missions and to provide assistance to civilian authorities in case of national emergency. In crises the main tasks of EDF are to increase readiness levels of units as required, to prepare for transition to wartime structure and to begin partial or total mobilization as ordered, to integrate units from other ministries and to prepare for assistance from and reception of friendly forces. In wartime the main tasks of EDF are to defend the territorial integrity of the state, to facilitate the arrival and deployment of forces from other countries and co-operate with them, to maintain control over national airspace and facilitate the air defence of strategic assets in co-operation with forces from other countries.
Leadership of the national defence
The national defence of Estonia is conducted on the principles of civilian control inherently bound with the democratic organisation of the state. Democratically elected and appointed executive institutions make decisions on the use of the Defence Forces and determine the respective objectives, allocate the necessary resources and monitor the attainment of the objectives. The implementation of the principles of civilian control is guaranteed by defence-related rights, obligations and responsibilities legislatively laid upon the Parliament, the President of the Republic and the Government of the Republic. The highest leader of the national defence is the President of the Republic advised in national defence matters by the National Defence Council comprising of the Chairman of the Parliament, the Prime Minister, the Chief of the Defence Forces (the Commander-in-Chief of the Defence Forces in wartime), the Defence Minister, the Minister of Internal Affairs, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and the Chairman of the Parliamentary National Defence Committee. Executive power in the leadership of the national defence is executed by the Government of the Republic.
Organization
The Estonian Defence Forces consist of regular military units totaling 5,600 officers and men, and a voluntary corps, the Estonian Defence League with about 10,000 soldiers. The Defence Forces are stationed within four defence districts with headquarters in Tallinn, Rakvere, Tartu, Pärnu.
Estonian Army (Maavägi)
The Estonian Army is the main arm of the Defence Forces. The Army development priorities are the capability to participate in missions outside the national territory and the capability to perform operations to protect the territory of Estonia, also in co-operation with the Allies. The Army component of the operational structure consists of an infantry brigade and a homeland security structure. Deployable infantry battalion tactical group and some deployable Combat Support and Combat Service Support units will be developed in the Army structure in accordance with NATO Force Proposals requirements. Infantry brigade will act as a training and support frame for deployable units. Homeland security structure units will have the capability to carry out territorial military tasks and support civil structures.
Estonian Navy (Merevägi)
The Navy is responsible for protecting the territorial waters of the Republic of Estonia. In case of a crisis situation the Navy must be ready to defend sea approaches, harbour areas, sea lines of communication and to co-operate with coalition units. The top priority for the Navy is the development of its minesweeping and minehunting capability that is also one of the Navy's peacetime responsibilities: during World War I and II more than 80 000 naval mines were laid in the Baltic Sea. Since 1995 number of mine clearance operations have been carried out in Estonian waters in close co-operation with other navies of the Baltic Sea region in order to find and dispose ordnance and contribute to safe seagoing. Since 1995 Estonian Navy ships have participated in most of the major international exercises and operations carried out in the Baltic Sea. Even though it was not until 1994 when the Navy was re-established and despite of the fact that it incorporates one of the smallest fleets in the world, the young crews of the Navy ships have demonstrated excellent interoperability during international exercises and have proved to be equal partners with other navies. Most of the Estonian Navy officers have been trained in European or US naval academies. In 2003 Estonian Navy established its own Centre of Naval Education and Training (CNET) to train petty officers. Each Baltic state shares its limited training resources with the others, for instance Estonia provides communications training in Baltic Naval Communications School in Tallinn and Latvia hosts common Baltic Naval Diving Training Centre in Liepaja.
Estonian Air Force (Õhuvägi)
The Estonian Air Force is located at Ämari Air Base and operates two Antonov An-2 planes and two Robinson R44 helicopters. Two Aero L-39 are being leased for training purposes. Air defence artillery batteries are equipped with 100 ZU-23-2s and Mistral missiles. Estonian primary radar Lockheed Martin TPS-117 is located at Kellavere and is integrated with Baltic States air defence network BaltNet. Ämari Air Base also hosts analogue ASR-8 short-range radar.
Insignia
| NATO Code | OF-10 | OF-9 | OF-8 | OF-7 | OF-6 | OF-5 | OF-4 | OF-3 | OF-2 | OF-1 | OF-D- | Student Officer | |
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| Estonia () |
No Equivalent |  |
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No Equivalent |
| Kindral | Kindralleitnant | Kindralmajor | Brigaadikindral | Kolonel | Kolonelleitnant | Major | Kapten | Leitnant | Nooremleitnant | Lipnik | |||
| NATO Code | OR-9 | OR-8 | OR-7 | OR-6 | OR-5 | OR-4 | OR-3 | OR-2 | OR-1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Estonia () |
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No insignia | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Ülemveebel | Staabiveebel | Vanemveebel | Veebel | Nooremveebel | Vanemseersant | Seersant | Nooremseersant | Kapral | Reamees | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
International relations
In 2004, Estonia joined NATO, which had been one of its foremost priorities since the restoration of independence. The United States is among the countries with which Estonia has very close cooperation in the defence and security fields. Estonia utilizes many weapons produced by Israel Military Industries, including UZI submachineguns, Galil rifles and IMI Negev light machine guns. Estonia currently has 35 soldiers fighting alongside American Forces in Iraq and 120 soldiers, or about 3% of its total active military force, fighting alongside British Forces in Afghanistan. In both cases, the units are regularly rotated. Estonia also provides peacekeepers for international missions in both Bosnia and Kosovo and contributes to EU battlegroups and NATO Response Force rotations.
See also
External links
 North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) |
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| Members | Belgium · Bulgaria · Canada · Czech Republic · Denmark · Estonia · France · Germany · Greece · Hungary · Iceland · Italy · Latvia · Lithuania · Luxembourg · Netherlands · Norway · Poland · Portugal · Romania · Slovakia · Slovenia · Spain · Turkey · United Kingdom · United States |  |
| Candidates | Albania · Croatia · Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) | |
