Luxembourg Defence Contributes €12m to Renovation of Estonian Air Base

Luxembourg's Directorate of Defence has announced that the Grand Duchy is contributing €12 million to the renovation of the Ämari Air Base in Estonia.

On Wednesday 31 January 2024, Luxembourg's Minister of Defence, Yuriko Backes, and Estonia's Minister of Defence, Hanno Pevkur, exchanged a memorandum of understanding (MoU) regarding the contribution by Luxembourg Defence of €12 million to the renovation of the Ämari Air Base. The exchange took place on the sidelines of the informal meeting of EU defence ministers in Brussels, Belgium.

According to the Directorate of Defence, the renovation and modernisation of the Ämari Air Base will allow the NATO Baltic Air Policing mission to fulfil its mandate of ensuring the integrity, safety and security of allied airspace more effectively. With its contribution, Luxembourg will finance a major part of the modernisation works.

"The Baltic Air Policing mission is an essential activity to maintain peace and security in NATO's airspace and Luxembourg is proud to already contribute via the provision of refuelling capabilities and now through the renovation of the Ämari Air Base," said Minister Backes. "With this financial contribution, Luxembourg is not only supporting our ally Estonia, it is also an investment into our common effort of securing NATO airspace and therefore an investment into our very own security."

Minister Pevkur added: "With this contribution from Luxembourg, we will improve the quality of our air base, which will help us better support and service allied fighter jets in Ämari. This is an excellent example of allies contributing directly to the security of the whole region. We are very grateful to our allies in Luxembourg for strengthening the security of Estonia and the wider region."

The Defence Directorate recalled that Luxembourg already contributes to the Baltic Air Policing mission by providing air-to-air refuelling capabilities via the Multinational Multi-Role Tanker Transport (MRTT) Unit. Both the air-to-air refuelling and this new financial contribution are part of Luxembourg's overall contribution to NATO's common deterrence and defence efforts.

This new financial contribution thus represents a further stage in the deepening of bilateral co-operation between Luxembourg and Estonia in defence matters.