The Defence Industry Association recognized the most outstanding achievement of the year
16.12.2020
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This year, for the first time, the Estonian Defen ce Industry Association chose the Estonian defen ce industry Award of the Year instead of the defen ce industry Company of the Year. Recognition was given to four Estonian companies that were successful in the European Defen ce Industrial Development Program me, winning a total of 10 million euros in research and development projects.
Namely – Milrem AS, Cybernetica AS, GT Cyber Technologies OÜ and DefSecIntel Solutions OÜ – won grants for research and development projects.
The Minister of Defence of Estonia said that the Estonian defence industry has stood out in the international arena as a strong, capable and ambitious partner.
“Together, we have reached the next stage in the development of the sector – the defence industry contributes to the Estonian economy, helps to create world-class security solutions for Estonia and our allies, and assures Estonia’s international and innovative image,” Luik said.
Luik added that the Award of the Year – grant from the European Defence Fund pilot program – is a very big step for the Estonian defence industry and a proof that small countries and companies can participate in the program and jointly create new defence capabilities in the EU.
According to Taavi Veskimägi, the Chairman of the Council of the Estonian Defence Industry Association, unusual year made the Electoral Commission decide to apply a different approach than usual and recognize the defence industry Award of the Year in order to spotlight the great success of several Estonian companies in the European Defence Industrial Development Programme.
He added that the success of Estonian companies in the European Defence Industry Development Programme is a sign of the success of more than ten years of cooperation between the Ministry of Defence of Estonia, the Estonian Defence Forces, companies and the Estonian Defence Industry Association.
„The year 2020 marks the next step in the development of the domestic defence industry, where our companies have become an important part in development of the European critical defence capabilities.”
“I would like to thank all entrepreneurs, officials and politicians who have contributed to this success. The Estonian defence industry as part of Estonia’s defence capability can only be developed in strong cooperation between the state and companies.