TALLIN. Nov 1 (Interfax/BNS) - Estonia will receive about $5 million in 2005 in the framework of the U.S. Foreign Military Financing Program (FMF), the press secretary of the Estonian Defense Ministry told BNS Monday.
The money will go for the acquisition of up-to-date communication systems.
Estonia received $6 million under the FMF program in 2004, and purchased radios, night goggles and spare parts for military cross-country vehicles.
Part of the money was spend for retraining of helicopter pilots and wages of new instructors at the Baltic Defense College.
Estonia is going to procure new-generation GPRS systems and communication assets for its Navy before year-end.
Apart from that, Estonia got $2.75 million in support of its contingent in Iraq this year.
The U.S. Congress is expected to adopt the allocation of more financial aid to Estonia in the near future.
A spokesman for the U.S. Embassy in Estonia told Interfax that the USA had provided Estonian pioneers with $3.28 million worth of equipment since 1998.
The rescue department spent the money for demining robots, protection suites, chemical protection equipment and vehicles. Some money was used to refine pioneers' skills.