An Estonian M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket System unleashes a training rocket during a live-fire exercise in Undva, Estonia, July 11, 2025. The exercise marked the first time Estonian troops fired their U.S.-made HIMARS. (Rose Di Trolio/U.S. Army)
Delays in U.S. missile deliveries caused by the war in Iran are pushing NATO ally Estonia to look for alternative ways to maintain its defenses, a top official told the country’s public broadcasting network.
The United States has paused munitions supplies to Estonia until at least the end of the Iran war, according to ERR.
The delay comes as the Baltic nation, which borders Russia, has been ramping up defense spending following Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
Talks are underway between the United States and Estonia to restore deliveries as quickly as possible, but delays of at least several months are expected, Defense Minister Hanno Pevkur said. Both sides are exploring other ways to cover the gap, he added.
“On the one hand, we must understand that the U.S. is currently involved in a conflict and is trying to stock itself and ensure that it is prepared if this war lasts longer,” Pevkur said. “On the other, it is not in their interests to damage allied ties nor to lose confidence in their defense industry such that no one would buy from them in the future.”
Estonian Defense Minister Hanno Pevkur speaks at an event at the Nursipalu Training Area on March 11, 2025. Pevkur said Monday the U.S. has paused ammunition supplies to Estonia until the end of the Iran war. (Phillip Walter Wellman/Stars and Stripes)
Various European countries were told by the U.S. that some previously contracted weapons deliveries would likely be delayed as a result of the Iran war, Reuters reported last week.
A tenuous ceasefire has temporarily halted the confict, which will pass the two-month mark on Saturday.
The main issue for Estonia is ammunition for its M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems, or HIMARS, and Javelin missiles, according to Pevkur.
Estonia signed an agreement with the U.S. in late 2022 to acquire six HIMARS launchers, as the system gained widespread attention for its battlefield performance in Ukraine.
It can fire a range of munitions, including GMLRS-guided rockets with a range of about 40 miles and ATACMS missiles capable of striking targets up to 180 miles away.
The first elements of a U.S. Army training unit arrived in Estonia in early 2023 to help prepare Estonian forces to operate the HIMARS.
The launchers were delivered last year, with the U.S. Embassy in Tallinn calling the acquisition “one of the most significant capability upgrades in Estonian military history.”
However, the halt in munitions deliveries has raised concerns in Estonia that the country has spent hundreds of millions on an American weapons system it cannot fully employ, amid ongoing concerns about Russia.
“The delay will not help out deterrence very much,” Pevkur said.
But he noted that Estonia has also signed a contract for South Korea’s Chunmoo multiple rocket launcher system, which is similar to HIMARS.
Pevkur spoke by phone Monday with U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth about the situation.
“The initial understanding is that this is on hold for as long as the war in Iran continues,” Pevkur said. “But if it were to last even longer, then we would certainly have to review our decisions.”
The value of munitions on hold and expected to arrive this year and next is in the “tens of millions of euros,” Pevkur said, adding that, according to the contract, there is no obligation for the U.S. to pay a penalty.
