Structure
The Air Force is led by the Commander of the Air Force, to whom the following are subordinate:
Air Force
The Air Force’s main task is airspace surveillance and, as host nation, providing support to allied forces upon their arrival. The Air Force controls the country’s airspace and ensures the air defence of strategic sites.
International and Civilian Cooperation
As a NATO member, the Air Force contributes to various international exercises and drills. For example, controllers from the Air Surveillance Division have repeatedly taken part in the Iceland air policing mission. Several Air Force personnel have worked or currently work in international staffs and command centres.
Air Force personnel have taken part in the following international exercises: Saber Strike, Ramstein Guard, Baltic Warrior, Udem Awakening, Rammstein Alloy, Baltic Bikini, Terminal Strike, Adriatic Strike, Ample Strike, Northern Strike, and others.
The Air Force has long-standing cooperative relationships with the Estonian Civil Aviation Administration, the Estonian Air Navigation Services (EANS), the Police and Border Guard Board, and the Estonian Aviation Academy. Close cooperation is also maintained with Lääne-Harju Rural Municipality and various local schools and kindergartens.
Since then the Ämari Air Base has seen several squadron-level training deployments by the USAF and other Air Forces. With our flexible airspace, air-to-ground range, low-level flying area system, and other attractive training opportunities, the Ämari AB is open to host Allied and Partner nations’ flying units.
Contacts
Press and Media
People
Brigadier General Riivo Valge
Commander of the Air Force
Chief Master Sergeant Raul Orman
Command Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force
Air Force Headquarters
Air Force Headquarters
The main function of the Air Force Headquarters is to support the Estonian Air Force Commander’s decision making process.
Ämari Air Base
Ämari Air Base
One of the units of the Estonian Air Force is the Air Base, located at Ämari in Harju County. The airfield and its operation form the core of the base; however, the Air Base also comprises other subunits and elements that perform important tasks.
Air Defence Wing
Air Defence Wing
Air Defence Division contributes to ensuring the integrity of the airspace of the Republic of Estonia by planning and executing active air defense operations.
Air Surveillance Wing
Air Surveillance Wing
The mission of Air Surveillance Wing is to safeguard the integrity of Estonian national airspace by contributing to the NATO Integrated Air and Missile Defence System (NATINAMDS) with robust early warning and air defence mission command and control in peacetime, crisis, and war.
Military Aviation Authority
Military Aviation Authority
The aim of the Military Aviation Authority is to ensure regulated and safe military aviation.
Generals
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Senior Officers
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Junior Officers
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Senior NCOs
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Junior NCOs
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Privates
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- Jul 2025 – Brigadier General Riivo Valge
- Jul 2022 – Jul 2025 Brigadier General Toomas Susi
- Aug 2019 – Jul 2022 Brigadier General Rauno Sirk
- Feb 2018 – Aug 2019 Colonel Riivo Valge
- Aug 2012 – Aug 2018 Colonel Jaak Tarien
- Mar 2007 – Aug 2012 Brigadier General Valeri Saar
- Aug 2006 – Mar 2007 Major Rauno Sirk
- May 2005 – Aug 2006 Brigadier General Valeri Saar
- Jul 2004 – May 2005 Major Mart Vendla
- Feb 2000 – Jul 2004 Major General Teo Krüüner
- Aug 1999 – Feb 2000 Colonel Valeri Saar
- Feb 1998 – Aug 1999 Colonel Teo Krüüner
- Feb 1997 – Feb 1998 Colonel Vello Loemaa
- Jan 1996 – Feb 1997 Colonel Teo Krüüner
- Feb 1994 – Jan 1996 Colonel Vello Loemaa
Military Flight Procedures in Estonian Airspace
Military Aviation Regulation
Procedures for Low Level Flying of Military Aircraft greater than 250 knots in Estonian Airspace
Tapa Air-to-Ground Range Regulation
Ämari Tower (TWR) Local Operation Procedures
Ämari military ATC Procedures (Effective from 28 May 2025 | 6 MB | docx
| Letter of Agreement between Lennuliiklusteeninduse Aktsiaselts (Estonian Air Navigation Services) and Eesti Kaitsevägi (Estonian Defence Forces). Release version 1.0. Effective from 26 April 2018. |
| Annex 1. ASM Level 2 Procedures (Effective from 01 Nov 2019, changed 04.05.2026) | 288 KB | pdf |
| Annex 2. ASM Level 3 Procedures (Effective from 17 June 2021, changed 04.05.2026) | 268 KB | pdf |
| Annex 3. ASM Procedures for Non AMC-Manageable Areas (Effective from 01 Nov 2019, changed 01.11.2019) | 255 KB | pdf |
| Annex 4. Summary Description of Special Use of Areas (Effective from 21 July 2026) | 305 KB | pdf |
| Annex 5. Contacts (Effective from 03 May 2021, changed 11 June 26) | 251 KB | pdf |
| Attachment A and B. Definitions and Abbreviations | 75 KB | pdf |
Estonian Airspace Management at Levels 2 and 3
Regulation on Diplomatic Clearances
eAIP Estonia
The Estonian Air Force was born with the Republic of Estonia. The first Air Force unit was formed on 21 November 1918. This, however, did not yet constitute a separate armed service, but a subunit in the formation of a larger engineering unit. Soon after, the first plane was acquired as booty from the communists – the fighter Farman HF-30 of French origin. Over the course of time, other aircraft were accumulated – mostly, bought on debt. By the end of the War of Independence in 1920, the Estonian armed forces had 44 planes at their disposal. Unfortunately only a few of them were airworthy.
In the period after the War of Independence and before the Soviet occupation (1920–1940) the Estonian Air Force was mainly comprised of three air units based in Tallinn, Tartu and Rakvere. There was an airbase along with the workshops in Tallinn. The flight school and the air defence artillery group operating as a part of the Air Force were also based in Tallinn.
In the first decade of the period of independence in particular, numerous aircrafts were acquired. These included aircraft produced in Germany, France and also Great Britain. The peak number of aircraft was reached in 1932 when 77 mostly up-to-date planes were registered. In the wake of World War II, large-scale commissions were made from Germany and Great Britain, but most of the planes ordered never arrived due to the war. In the 1930s, fairly adequate aircrafts were designed and built in Estonia, too.
As the Republic of Estonia was wiped off the world map in 1940, it brought along a more than 50-year disruption in the history of the Estonian Air Force; yet, both during the war and also after the war, there were Estonians serving in the air forces of Russia (USSR), Germany, the United States, and other countries.
Upon the re-establishment of the Republic of Estonia and the Estonian Defence Forces, re-formation of the Air Force started immediately. In 1994, Colonel Vello Loemaa, currently a retired Major General, was appointed as Commander of the Estonian Air Force.
The Estonian Air Force consists of three elements. The Air Force Headquarters was establishes in 1994, the Air Base in 1997 and the Air Surveillance Wing in 1998.
The former Soviet military air base at Ämari became the airbase of the Estonian Air Force. Between 2008 and 2012 the airbase underwent a complete renovation programme, to such a degree that it could now be considered a new base. Since 1 May 2014, it is the base for the NATO Baltic Air Policing Unit. The air base has its own small flight unit that includes a Soviet-era light transport aircraft An-2, and Robinson R-44 helicopters acquired in 2002. In 2006, the project of L-39 training jets was launched. Currently there are two aircraft of this type at the disposal of the air base.
The Air Surveillance Wing started monitoring the Estonian airspace with radars of Soviet origin. In 2003 a modern TPS-77 radar manufactured by Lockheed Martin was placed into operation at Kellavere radar site and in the spring of 2013, the Ground Master 403 radar manufactured by the ThalesRaytheonSystems was installed on the island of Muhu. In January 2015 a radar station equipped with a radar by the same manufacturer was opened at Tõikamäe near Otepää. In 2000, the Ämari Air Sovereignty Operations Centre, the predecessor of the current Command and Reporting Post, was opened. In 2006, the post achieved fighter controller capacity.
An important step for the Estonian Air Force was joining NATO in 2004. As a result we have a modern and well-functioning airbase, an Air Surveillance Wing in the NATO Integrated Air and Missile Defence System (NATINAMDS), and the Air Force Headquarters functioning efficiently within the framework of NATO.
Last updated: 8. jaanuar 2025, 13:06