Estonia has launched a public procurement process to acquire 600 modular bunkers as part of a broader Baltic effort to reinforce its border with Russia and Belarus.
The Estonian Centre for Defence Investments announced the tender on February 19, inviting companies to manufacture and deliver concrete bunker structures to designated storage sites under the Baltic Defence Line project. The initiative is a joint undertaking between Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, aimed at strengthening frontline defences from what officials describe as "the first meter of national territory."
The project reflects a shift in allied defence planning within NATO, moving away from earlier doctrines that assumed Baltic territory could be temporarily ceded while awaiting reinforcements. Instead, the focus now lies on immediate territorial defence.
Latvia's defence ministry has expressed interest in joining Estonia's procurement process, though construction efforts under the Baltic Defence Line have so far been managed independently by each country. Estonia has allocated €60 million to the effort and says the first bunkers have already been installed in the southeast and northeast of the country.
Officials report that nine bunkers are currently in place, with additional counter-mobility assets pre-positioned and trench systems under development. Full completion of the fortification line is targeted for the end of 2027, despite earlier logistical challenges related to terrain, land ownership and production costs...