Estonia Announces Chunmoo Rocket Artillery Purchase Plans
Estonia’s defense ministry announced on Thursday that it is planning to purchase South Korea’s Chunmoo multiple launch rocket artillery systems, following the signing of a defense cooperation agreement between South Korea and Estonia.
The agreement was signed by Estonian defense minister Hanno Pevkur and his South Korean counterpart Ahn Gyu-back in Seoul on the sidelines of the Seoul International Aerospace & Defense Exhibition (ADEX) 2025, following a meeting between Pevkur and senior South Korean defense ministry officials.
In a statement issued following the signing of a memorandum of understanding on the purchase of the Chunmoo MLRS, Pevkur said the Estonian Defense Forces had selected the Chunmoo to strengthen deep strike capabilities introduced with its previous purchase of American High Mobility Rocket Artillery Systems (HIMARS), noting that Poland is operating a similar mix of American and South Korean rocket artillery systems.
Pevkur added that it was “crucial” for the final deal to include localization of the Chunmoo systems, saying that he intended for it to result in “tens of millions of euros” to be directly invested in the Estonian defence industry.
According to Estonia’s defense ministry, the memorandum of understanding allows the start of negotiations between Estonia’s military procurement agency, the Estonian Centre for Defence Investments (ECDI), South Korean export authorities, and Chunmoo manufacturer Hanwha Aerospace on a framework agreement for a possible sale.
Pevkur also said that Estonia was still waiting on an estimate by the United States on when additional HIMARS units would be available for sale to Estonia, following a previous agreement for the sale of more launchers. Estonia currently has six HIMARS launchers, with all six arriving in Estonia at the end of April this year.
A readout by South Korea’s defense ministry said that other topics discussed during the meeting included increasing high-level exchanges, military training exchanges, and cybersecurity collaboration in addition to defense industry cooperation.
Ahead of the meeting, Pevkur and a delegation of Estonian government and defense company officials had visited the ADEX 2025 exhibition.