The Defense Ministry in Tallinn said the deal involved Sisu XA-188 version vehicles and that a contract would be signed in the coming weeks. The vehicles are currently owned by Dutch defense forces.

The vehicles are intended to continue "mechanizing the 1st Infantry Brigade and to offer their units in Afghanistan a better level of armored protection," Estonia Public Broadcasting reported this week.

"Compared with the current armored carriers these ones offer better protection, and the first carriers should reach Afghanistan this year for the use by the Estonian troops stationed there," the state broadcaster quoted Minister of Defense Jaak Aaviksoo as saying.

Delivery of the carriers is expected between 2011 and 2015, and negotiations with Dutch Defense Ministry officials are thrashing out details related to unit prices, delivery terms and payment schedule.

Under the deal, the expected purchase "doubles the number of armored vehicles in the Estonian defense forces," military spokesman Peeter Kuimet was quoted saying in a report by Defense News.

The spokesman said it was the "biggest armored vehicle deal ever made" by Estonia.

A member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization since 2004, Estonia has been bent on bolstering its anti-aircraft and anti-tank defense. It has also expressed interest in buying transport helicopters and fast patrol boats as part of a defense development plan endorsed by the government last year.

Estonia regained independence from the crumbling Soviet Union in 1991 when it built its defenses and military from scratch.

"With its small size and armed forces, Estonia knows it cannot stand alone in its self-defense," the prestigious Atlantic Council wrote in a recent review. "It needs to be part of a security community that will join together in self-defense, should that ever be required."

Still, it argued, to be valuable within NATO, Estonia must "contribute to the overall success of the Alliance, including in missions far afield."

In 2004, Estonia purchased it first batch of 60 SISU XA-180EST armored carriers from Finland. At the time, the deal cost more than $5 million.

The SISU XA-188 is similar to that first batch, making its use, maintenance and repair of the Dutch vehicles easier. Ministry experts argued that that new vehicles in store afford better protection against live fire, mines and road bombs that have been taking a harrowing toll on the lives of foreign soldiers stationed in Afghanistan.

Also to be procured from the Netherlands are medical and control point armored vehicles.

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