Lower thirds:

00:01 Report by / Teri Schultz
00:20 Kristen Michal / Estonian Prime Minister
00:57 Kalev Stoicescu / Estonian Parliament Defense Committee Chair 
01:33 Hanno Pevkur / Estonian Defense Minister 
01:47 Teri Schultz / DW Correspondent
02:06 Joel Linnainmaki / Finnish Institute of International Affairs

Script:

US led attacks on Iran have burned through Washington’s missile supplies. Now, that’s affecting countries on the frontline of another war.  

Estonia, Finland and Lithuania, which all share a border with Russia, are among the customers of U-S arms manufacturers who’ve been told they won’t get getting their weapons on time. 

+++ SOT: Kristen Michal, Estonian Prime Minister +++
"We understand the reasoning and circumstances, and we are in close contact with them, the United States of America, and discussions how to address these supply challenges." 

Estonia has purchased several US-made High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems, called HIMARS, which consist of a vehicle and rocket launcher. The Pentagon says the extra HIMARS ammunition Tallinn ordered — and paid for — will be delayed. 

The chair of the Estonian parliament’s defense committee says they need to know: Will the backlog be weeks, months or years?  

+++ SOT: Kalev Stoicescu, Estonian Parliament Defense Committee Chair +++
"We'll have to do something about it. Because it doesn't make sense to have those systems somewhere in storage sites and not having enough munitions to be used. They are no use then in a conflict situation." 

A regular target of Kremlin threats, Estonia can’t risk its readiness. What Estonia might do if the delay drags on, Stoicescu explains, is to shift more of its budget — which is already at 5-percent of GDP — to non-American suppliers such as South Korea, which produces a competitor to the U-S HIMARS.  

Estonia has even already bought some of those, too.  

+++ SOT: Hanno Pevkur, Estonian Defense Minister +++
"Korea has always been in time, so we trust Koreans."  

Several European countries are expanding their defense deals with South Korea, something the US industry will have to face if it doesn’t fulfill its contracts. 
 
+++ PTC: Teri Schultz, DW Correspondent: +++
"But what’s most likely in the short-term is that those countries whose shipments are held up will try to allay concern about the problem in public and resolve it quickly in private. For one thing, they do understand Washington having to shift priorities as it wages the Iran war. But there’s another audience to consider, too."

+++ SOT: Joel Linnainmaki, Finnish Institute of International Affairs +++
"Frontline states also don't want to send a signal to Russia that if there are any delays in any deliveries that somehow makes us weaker. That's not the case. We are very vigilant and very prepared for any kind of contingencies on the eastern front line of NATO. But of course, it doesn't make things easier and it's not a situation that anybody's happy with."

It’s just one more reminder that Europe is a long way from having a defense industry that can produce everything it needs. 

END