Estonia is preparing to expand its drone production to 2,000 daily by next year.
The new manufacturing facility, spearheaded by Estonian company Meridein Group, is expected to begin production early next year. The facility will focus on first-person view, reconnaissance and strike drones.
For security reasons, the location of the facility hasn’t been revealed.
Meridein reportedly has several cooperation agreements with Ukrainian and European drone firms.
The new facility underscores Estonia’s desire to bolster NATO’s eastern defense in the face of Russian aggression in Ukraine. Earlier this year, Estonia announced it would participate in a multinational effort to build a Baltic drone wall in the east. Estonia allocated $14 million for the project, which involves seven Estonian defense technology companies.
The NATO-backed drone initiative would create a “UAV defense corridor” from Norway to Poland. The drone wall would be equipped with autonomous surveillance systems and multilayer sensor networks to counter hostile drones coming from the east.
Estonia is one of the more enthusiastic NATO partners when it comes to increasing defense spending. The country has promised to boost defense spending to 5.4% of GDP by 2026, standing second in the alliance.
The new manufacturing facility, spearheaded by Estonian company Meridein Group, is expected to begin production early next year. The facility will focus on first-person view, reconnaissance and strike drones.
For security reasons, the location of the facility hasn’t been revealed, but Meridein maintains that the factory will produce at least 2,000 drones per day. The company also reportedly has several cooperation agreements with Ukrainian and European drone firms.
The new facility underscores Estonia’s desire to bolster NATO’s eastern defense in the face of Russian aggression in Ukraine. Earlier this year, Estonia announced it would participate in a multinational effort to build a Baltic drone wall in the east. Estonia allocated $14 million for the project, which involves seven Estonian defense technology companies.
The NATO-backed drone initiative would create a “UAV defense corridor” from Norway to Poland. The drone wall would be equipped with autonomous surveillance systems and multilayer sensor networks to counter hostile drones coming from the east.
Estonia is one of the more enthusiastic NATO partners when it comes to increasing defense spending. The country has promised to boost defense spending to 5.4% of GDP by 2026, standing second in the alliance.
