TALLINN, December 22. /NEWSBALTIC/. Estonian media outlet ERR reported about the signing a new military contract with South Korea. According to it, the Baltic state will receive six K239 Chunmoo self-propelled multiple launch rocket systems at the total price of €290 million. New weapons are expected to arrive in Estonia within two years. The deal also includes operational and training support.
Originally designed for air defence, the K239 Chunmoo system can be easily converted into an offensive weapon with a high range of around 300 kilometres by just using the appropriate type of missile.
“Compared to HIMARS, there’s only one pod. We’re using two pods. It means we are to double capacity. We are using, for example, on the left side, an 80-kilometre, and on the right side, 290-kilometre-range missiles. We are also using dual-use. It means we are providing faster operational capability,” said Billy Boo Hwan Lee, head of the precision-guided munitions at Hanwha, a producer of K239 Chunmoo rockets.
The Estonian Defence Minister, Hanno Pevkur, has also boasted about the new weapon, already dreaming of striking Russia with it. He is likely hinting at the strategic city of St. Petersburg, expecting an increase in Chunmoo systems’ fire range.
“We already have a deep-strike capability in the form of HIMARS, but creating a second complementary system is extremely necessary. Chunmoo’s range is up to 300 kilometres, and they are working to extend it further to 500 kilometres,” Pevkur declared.
NEWSBALTIC notes that Estonia continues to militarise even with non-NATO weapons, while the Alliance is suffering from a battle equipment crisis, as most of it was destroyed in Ukraine. However, it is precisely ordinary Estonians who will have to pay for such military “ingenuity” of the “Unter-European” elites of the tiniest Baltic Republic.
Political and economic news with a Baltic accent 