Through the adoption of the long-term military defence development plan (Military Defence Development Plan for 2009-2018, hereinafter the MDDP) and the law amending the Peacetime National Defence Act at the end of 2008, the defence planning process that is applicable in Estonia was finally organised and bigger compliance with NATO defence planning was ensured.

By linking the long-term (10 years) and mid-term (4 years) development plans and one year planning documents, Estonia has ensured the possibility of a capacity-based, systematic development of military national defence. A long-term strategic overview has been now provided, which allows for assessing the expedience of resource consuming supply procurements and investments in infrastructure against the priorities of developing military capacities and availability of resources that are required for capacity development (personnel, equipment, infrastructure).

Estonia has also consolidated the national and NATO defence planning processes. The strategic military defence plan proceeds from the NATO defence politics guidance of the same level. This deals with the military strategies for anticipating external military threats and provides a description of general defence solution, and it also identifies the priorities of national defence, strategic functions and measures for their implementation, threat scenarios, and national military defence level of ambition. For the purposes of MDDP, providing the links with the process of establishing NATO’s planning objectives or military capacity objectives, which also links, as agreed with NATO, the process of establishing objectives for military capacities to the process of devising the MDDP on a time scale, or in other words, both establish objectives, measurable within the same background system and for the same period of time. The outcome of the given activities will be reflected in detail and with resources in the four-year military defence development plan (Military Defence Action Plan).

Apart from NATO’s planning objectives, Estonia will also consider the defence planning process that takes place in the European Union. However, this is not a classical defence planning process for the purpose of the European Union. Instead, the value of the process is reflected, in particular in the analyses and related search for co-operation opportunities and joint projects, as well as the research and development work.

Common planning objectives and consultations between NATO, the European Union, and partners will ensure the inter-operability of armed forces of different countries. More generally, it will mean compatible equipment, similar training methods, and shared projects of co-operation and exercises. Above all, the integration of armed forces is important for international operations. Also, consolidated defence planning and consistent consultations will help to find more profitable solutions through projects of co-operation between NATO or EU countries, which will considerably contribute to the development of strategic or tactical capabilities.