An Estonian ground guide directs an M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket System, or HIMARS, off the airfield at Amari Air Base, Estonia, April 29, 2025. The U.S.-made weapons systems were handed over to the Baltic country at a ceremony at the base the next day. (Jaidyn Moore/U.S. Army)
Estonia’s first batch of U.S.-made High Mobility Rocket System launchers arrived this week, as the Baltic countries continue to strengthen their military deterrents against neighboring Russia.
The handover of six HIMARS launchers to Estonian defense forces took place Wednesday at Amari Air Base, in the northwest of the country about 25 miles away from the capital, Tallinn.
The HIMARS delivery, which gives Estonia long-range strike capability, is the first to a Baltic state and comes amid heightened tensions in the region spurred by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
The U.S. Embassy in Tallinn on Wednesday referred to the acquisition as “one of the most significant capability upgrades in Estonian military history.”
The HIMARS, which gained widespread interest due to its battlefield performance in Ukraine, can fire precision-guided missiles at targets nearly 200 miles away, according to manufacturer Lockheed Martin.
The launchers also can be easily integrated with U.S. and allied systems.
“Today, Estonia demonstrates yet again that it is a capable, serious ally and friend to the United States, an ally that is both committed to its own defense and to making NATO stronger,” Charge d’Affaires Matthew Wall said at a ceremony Wednesday, according to an embassy statement.
Matt Wall, Chargé d’Affaires at the U.S. Embassy in Estonia, gives a speech April 30, 2025, during a ceremony at Amari Air Base unveiling Estonia's newly received M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems. (Austin Steinborn/U.S. Army)
American soldiers assigned to Task Force Voit have been in Estonia since 2022, training Estonian troops how to operate the HIMARS. The Estonians are expected to fire their own systems for the first time this summer, according to U.S. Army officials.
U.S. security assistance was used to finance the purchase of the HIMARS launchers, part of a broader package aimed at strengthening NATO’s eastern flank, according to the State Department.
Assistance for various projects in Estonia tripled in the three-year period between 2022 and 2024, compared with the amount the three years prior, rising from roughly $122 million to $430 million, the embassy said.
Estonia, which shares a land border with Russia and is considered a potential flashpoint in the event of widening hostilities, has pledged to boost defense spending to 5% of its gross domestic product.
The country has a long history of domination by its large eastern neighbor. After declaring independence from Russia following World War I, Estonia was annexed by the Soviet Union. It won its independence back in 1991.
Estonian officials officially took delivery of the HIMARS launchers at Lockheed Martin’s production facility in Arkansas in January. Afterward, the launchers were shipped to the country. In Ukraine, the HIMARS has allowed Ukrainian troops to hit Russian command posts and logistics hubs far behind the front lines. The system’s armored cab holds three operators — a driver, gunner and section chief — and is designed to withstand small-arms fire and artillery fragments. In early 2024, the defense ministers of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania pledged to cooperate on future HIMARS use, after each country had placed its own orders. Altogether, the three Baltic states intend to field 20 launchers in the coming years.
A High Mobility Artillery Rocket System launcher belonging to the U.S. Army's Task Force Voit fires a test rocket Jan. 27, 2025, at a training area near Tapa, Estonia. The country received its first six HIMARS on April 29, making it the first Baltic nation to take delivery of the weapons system. (Phillip Walter Wellman/Stars and Stripes)
An Estonian soldier operates the newly acquired M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket System during a simulated fire mission at Amari Air Base, Estonia, April 30, 2025. (Austin Steinborn/U.S. Army)
