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Ahead of the NATO defense ministers' meeting in Brussels on Thursday, Estonian Minister of Defense Hanno Pevkur and his Italian counterpart Guido Crosetto confirmed in a joint statement that Italy will deploy its SAMP/T air defense system to Estonia this year.
«Just like the fighter jets that protect our airspace on NATO's air policing mission under agreed rotations, air defense rotations are also vital for ensuring collective defense. As part of that, we will see the SAMP/T air defense system in Estonia for the first time this fall. At the same time, Italian fighter jets will also arrive to protect our airspace,» Pevkur said.
«In addition, similar to the Spanish NASAMS rotation, the arrival of the SAMP/T system will provide our defense forces with the opportunity to train air defense interoperability with allies and to prepare for the deployment of our own incoming air defense systems,» he added.
«The deployment of air defense assets to Estonia strengthens the long-term defense cooperation between Estonia and Italy within NATO and improves readiness, responsiveness, flexibility, integration, and interoperability,» the joint statement from the defense ministers reads.
The ministers also state in the joint declaration that the deployment of SAMP/T is a practical example of the alliance's unity, solidarity, and cohesion, and contributes to NATO's ongoing commitment to defend the freedom and security of its allies and fulfill the core objective of collective defense.
The defense ministers' meeting continues Thursday with working sessions of the North Atlantic Council, the NATO-Ukraine Council, and the Nuclear Planning Group.