A joint venture between ST Engineering and Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) is supplying Estonia with a land-to-sea missile system.
Dubbed the “Blue Spear”, this missile system will be used by the Estonian armed forces for coastal defence against hostile ships.
Estonia, a Nato member since 2004, is the first customer of the joint venture, Proteus Advanced Systems.
See: ST Engineering marks largest acquisition to date with US$2.68 bil bid for TransCore
The Blue Spear, which has a range of 290 km, can trace its lineage to the Gabriel anti-ship missile, which is used by armed forces including Singapore’s navy.
The value of the sale wasn’t disclosed by ST Engineering and IAI in their press releases, but several Israel websites have reported the value at 150 million shekels, or around $63 million.
“The chosen weapon system will form the cornerstone of Estonian naval defence for decades to come,” says commander of the Estonian Navy commodore Jüri Saska.
“Estonian Navy will be able to contribute significantly both to national, regional and collective defence effort,” he adds.
Ron Tryfus, general manager of the joint venture Proteus Advanced Systems, describes the Blue Spear as “a very advanced, operational proven system”, drawing upon IAI’s years of experience operating missiles, including the Gabriel family.
“The strong cooperation of IAI and ST Engineering expresses the capabilities of the two companies in developing advanced battle systems,” he adds.
Photo credit: IAI/ST Engineering
