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(U//FOUO) The Newest of Mil-to-Mil Possibilities: Estonia
FROM: (U//FOUO)
MultiNational/Second Party Office (DP16)
Run Date: 07/14/2005
(S//SI) There are currently Military-to-Military SIGINT relationships with 26 different countries
throughout the globe. The majority of these resides in the USEUCOM Area of Responsibility and
was initially focused on the Soviet Union. The USEUCOM J2** has taken a very active interest in
the benefits of Mil-to-Mil SIGINT relationships and has been looking at the new NATO nations as
possible partners that can be used to answer USEUCOM's Priority Intelligence Requirements
(PIRs) and Intelligence Needs (INs). There is currently a proposal at the SIGCOM level to
establish a Mil-to-Mil relationship with Romania, and just recently FAD approved exploratory
talks with Estonia.
(S//SI) This initiative started when the US Defense Attaché from Estonia and the Estonian J2
visited EUCOM on separate occasions in January. They talked extensively about Estonian SIGINT
capabilities and desire to work with the US military. USEUCOM and NCEUR canvassed the
Service Cryptologic Elements in Europe and found the 26th Information Operations Group (Air
Force) was very interested in an exchange.
(S//SI) Initial research and discussions have shown that Estonia, a new NATO nation and a
member of the NATO Advisory Committee on Signals Intelligence (NACSI), is currently
participating in coalition operations in Iraq with 36 soldiers on the ground. USEUCOM believes
the Estonian Defense Force (EDF) is operating SIGINT sites focusing on Russian air operations in
the St. Petersburg Military District and Russian ground forces in the Pskov Military District.
(S//SI) Internal to NSA, there is currently no established Estonian Country Team. The Office of
Russia does not believe that the EDF has anything to offer NSA that is not already being
reported within the Intelligence Community (IC); therefore, there is currently no interest from
NSA in a National relationship with Estonia. Within the US IC, the EDF is currently reporting
some SIGINT through the CIA Chief of Station (COS) in Tallinn. The COS has stated that
exploratory talks could possibly identify new access that the EDF has not yet shared. The COS
will participate in all exploratory discussions but does not see any long-term benefit in a Mil-toMil. Nonetheless, DP16 -- as advocates for USEUCOM and the other combatant commands -- will
staff and advocate any request validated through the command.
(S//SI) It will be interesting to see if exploratory discussions lead to a USEUCOM request for the
establishment of a Mil-to- Mil relationship. In the meantime, NSA and FAD will benefit from
seeing the targets to which the Estonians have access, and how proficient they are as
SIGINTers.
**(U) Notes
USEUCOM = U.S. European Command
J2 = Director of Intelligence (see related article ).
(U//FOUO) This article is reprinted from the Foreign Affairs Digest, June edition.
"(U//FOUO) SIDtoday articles may not be republished or reposted outside NSANet
without the consent of S0121 (DL sid_comms)."
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DERIVED FROM: NSA/CSSM 1-52, DATED 08 JAN 2007 DECLASSIFY ON: 20320108