Accession to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization is Estonia's main security and defense policy priority. Accession to NATO has been included in all coalition agreements of all Estonian governments since the restoration of independence, including the present government. The same objective also is stated in the National Security Concept of the Republic of Estonia, approved by the parliament in March 2001.
The 2002 state budget allocates 2% of gross domestic product for defense expenditures. The United States is among the countries with which Estonia has very intensive cooperation in the defense and security field.
| Estonian Defence Forces | |
|---|---|
| Military manpower | |
| Military age | 18 years of age |
| Availability | males age 15-49: 360,440 (2003 est.) |
| Fit for military service | 283,278 (2003 est.) |
| Reaching military age annually | males: 11,123 (2003 est.) |
| Military expenditures | |
| Dollar figure | $155 million (FY02) |
| Percent of GDP | 2% (FY02) |
| Table of contents |
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2 Estonian Navy 3 Estonian Air Force 4 External link |
Organisation
The Estonian Defence Forces are consist of a regular part, the Kaitsevägi of about 5120 solders, and a voluntary organisation, the Defence League (Kaitseliit) of about 8100 soldiers. The Defence Forces are divided into four defence areas with headquarters in Tallin, Rakvere, Tartu, Pärnu.
The Estonia cooperates with Latvian and Lithuania in the joint infantry battalion BALTBAT and naval squadron BALTRON which are available for peacekeeping operations.
Estonian Air Force
The Air Force has a air base in Ämäri and operates two An-2s and two Mi-2s. Air defence batteries are equipped with some 100 ZSU-23s.External link