For Estonia, defence is not just military strategy. It’s about constantly innovating to stay resilient. It’s teachers, coders, entrepreneurs, drone-builders, artists, and volunteers. It’s the ease of doing business. It’s transparency, trust, and the belief that even the best system probably still has a bug somewhere worth fixing.
This issue of Life in Estonia features interviews and stories from across the defence ecosystem. Taavi Veskimägi, Chair of the Estonian Defence and Aerospace Association, discusses Estonia’s ambition to become a global hub for smart defence: “We won’t be building tanks, but we’ll make them smart. If someone else builds the hardware, Estonia can add the intelligence.”
Highlights from the issue include:
- Features on Frankenburg Technologies, HEVI Optronics, DefSecIntel, and Helsing—companies at the forefront of Estonia’s growing smart defence sector.
- Interview with Bolt founder Markus Villig on the mission behind Defence Meetups, launched with Ragnar Sass. These meetups started as a grassroots movement and are turning into one of the most anticipated community events in Estonia and Europe.
- Estonia launches €100 million Defence Tech Fund to boost its domestic military technology sector and strengthen European capabilities.
- Estonia announces a nationwide education program AI Leap to provide schools with free access of AI tools in cooperation with OpenAI, Google, Anthropic and Microsoft.
- One of the most notable composers, Estonia’s Arvo Pärt, turns 90 this year. Carnegie Hall has dedicated its upcoming season to Pärt’s music; two concerts will exclusively feature the Estonian maestro’s works.
- 2025 is the Year of the Estonian Book – featuring top recommendations for your next read from Estonian authors.
Read the issue
