Estonian Navy

Estonian Navy

The Merevägi is the navy of Republic of Estonia and is part of the unified Kaitsevägi (Estonian Defence Force).

In total, there are about four commissioned ships in the Estonian Navy, including three auxiliary ships; the displacement of the navy is under 10,000 tonnes making it one of the smallest navies in the world. The Estonian Navy has been reduced severely since the second half of the decade mainly due to insufficient maintenance, lack of funding and hereby training of personnel and timely replacement of equipment. Another possible setback could be attributed to Estonia's domestic lack of maritime defence policy strategy as the current navy neither operates a single traditional warship that could performe a defensive or an offensive operations nor a coastal defense capabilities and maritime landing operations along its long and island rich territorial waters.

In general the Estonian Navy in the terms of maritime naval terminology can be classified between the green-water and brown-water navies having at the same time both naval type capaibilities. Today green-water navies are generally defined as navies with frigates or corvettes operating in coastal and regional areas. When the green-water navies are usually capable of sending their naval ships overseas on friendly port-visits, the Estonian Navy has participated in numerous time at NATO´s naval joint-exercises. The brown-water navy usually lacks either the ability for sustained long-distance combat operations and the Estonian current naval-doctrine does not envisage deployments far away from its home bases. Although the Merevägi being a hybrid of the brown/green-water navy does not imply that the Estonian Navy lacks offensive capability, as many small littoral-combat ships today can be armed with powerful anti-ship missiles.

In 2010, the Ministry of Defence confirmed an interest to obtain a number of warships in the terms of gunboats in the purpose likely to ensure defence of territorial waters and to improve maritime surveillance. In late 2011, despite the changes in general defence policy and the armed forces reforms that are to take place in the coming years it is still not certain if, what type and number of the vessels will be pobtained for the navy.