Estonia Opened Its First Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Training Center

On Friday, representatives of the Estonian Centre for Defence Investments (ECDI) and the Estonian Defence League opened Estonia’s first unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) training center in Nurmsi. The center will support the training of the Defence League, the Defence Forces, and allied units.

“We’re pleased to open Estonia’s first training center for unmanned aerial vehicles, located at the Koigi grass airfield. This center expands training opportunities for units and strengthens cooperation with our allies. The experience from the war in Ukraine has shown how crucial UAV training is for developing our capabilities,” said Peeter Karja, Southern Portfolio Manager at the Estonian Centre for Defence Investments (ECDI).

“The war in Ukraine has demonstrated that drones and unmanned systems are key in modern warfare. Drones are also important for the development of Estonia’s defense capabilities. This field is evolving rapidly, and we must advance our drone training as well. I am glad Estonia now has its own dedicated UAV training center,” said Minister of Defence Hanno Pevkur.

The new training center, located on the grounds of Koigi airfield, will support the activities of the Defence League, the Defence Forces, and allied units during field exercises.

“The Nurmsi drone center will become a hub for technological development in this field, and it’s no exaggeration to say that the Defence League is leading the way in how drones can be used for Estonia’s defense,” said Major General Ilmar Tamm, Commander of the Estonian Defence League. “The newly opened center enables us to integrate lessons learned from Ukraine and NATO allies into our national defense, while also offering excellent infrastructure to our partners from the Defence Forces and the defense industry.”

The three-story building has 1,300 square meters of space, including classrooms, storage and maintenance areas for equipment, as well as accommodation, sanitation, and leisure facilities. The most striking feature of the building is a glass tower that offers a 360-degree view.

According to Jaanus Lohu, board member of Paide MEK AS, a company from Järva County, the biggest challenge was constructing a building of this size without a permanent power supply – from start to finish. “We gained valuable experience from this project. It’s undoubtedly an important object for the development of defense capabilities, and we could use more such facilities in Järva County,” Lohu added.

The development of the UAV training center was fully funded by the government of Luxembourg and cost approximately 5 million euros. The initial cooperation agreement between the defense ministries of Luxembourg and Estonia for developing the training center was signed in April 2021.