Estonia, Latvia and Finland have signed a technical agreement for a jointly developed armored vehicle, with Estonia touting the plans as a means to jump-start the defense industry and maintain its security posture following the global coronavirus crisis.
The new pact enables Estonia to continue its participation in the tri-national effort to scope out requirements for the “potential” procurement of a fleet of armored vehicles featuring common components, the Estonian Defence Ministry wrote in a statement.
“We have to keep in mind that our primary goal here is to develop a platform that meets the requirements of Estonian Defence Forces with a favorable price,” Kristikan Prikk, permanent secretary at the ministry, was quoted as saying in the statement. “We see big potential in this project, especially as we are involved already in the development phase, which is the best way to secure that eventually we will have equipment that meets our needs.”
The technical arrangement, inked on Monday, follows a letter of intent signed in December that laid out the broader parameters for the joint project.
