Estonia is planning to buy surveillance drones in the next few years to upgrade its military reconnaissance capabilities, media reports said here Friday.
Defense Forces commander in chief Maj. Gen. Riho Terras said Friday that Russia is increasingly proving it is a military superpower and recent conflicts have developed very quickly, and Estonia has decided its military priority is to develop its surveillance abilities, Xinhua reported.
"Decisions to react must be made in weeks, which means that intelligence must be gathered in a matter of days," Terras said, adding that a "blind" nation "could not be defended".
The local Business Daily reported that Estonia, along with 12 other NATO members, is participating in a procurement to purchase US-built Global Hawk unmanned surveillance aircraft.
Six million euros ($8 million) have been earmarked for 2015 or 2016 with necessary infrastructure at an undisclosed location also planned, it reported.
