Estonia’s military procurement agency has announced a deal with Proteus Advanced Systems to provide Blue Spear 5G SSM missile systems for the country’s defense forces.
The advanced, land-to-sea anti-ship missile systems contract followed a tender to procure armaments to bolster Estonian coastal defense capabilities, marking one of the most significant defense procurements by the Baltic country.
Estonia’s minister of defense called the contract “a huge leap forward for the Estonian Defence Forces,” and said that the weapon system will send “a clear message that we are contributing to the regional and collective defence effort.”
Jüri Saska, Commodore of the Estonian Navy, explained: “The chosen weapon system will form the cornerstone of Estonian naval defence for decades to come. Estonian Navy will be able to contribute significantly both to national, regional and collective defence effort.”
Blue Spear Missile System
Developed by Proteus Advanced Systems Pte. Ltd., a joint venture company of Israel Aerospace Industries Ltd. and ST Engineering Land Systems Ltd., the Blue Spear 5G SSM missile system is an advanced, all-weather precision weapon with beyond-line-of-sight strike capabilities.
The system can strike stationary and mobile targets at sea with a maximum range of 290 km (180 mi) and be launched from various land-based platforms at high subsonic speed. The missile warhead utilizes active radar-homing for target acquisition through INS-based navigation and features “a robust system which is immune to GPS disruptions and maximal accuracy.”
Proteus Advanced Systems’ General Manager Ron Tryfus explained that the Blue Spear missile system is the most advanced of the “next-generation Gabriel family” of surface-to-surface missile systems.”