The Lithuanian government has announced plans to allocate an additional €20 million for the purchase of combat and reconnaissance drones. The announcement was made by Lithuanian Minister of Defense, Laurynas Kasčiūnas, on the social network X (Twitter). The drones will be purchased for the Lithuanian Armed Forces, and part of the funds will be used to train instructors and operators with Ukrainian experience. The integration of drone capabilities into the Lithuanian Armed Forces is also planned. The concept of this integration will be presented by September.

In early July, the Defence Materiel Agency under the Lithuanian Ministry of National Defence revealed that they will be purchasing various types of drones for €36 million. These drones will be urgently bought from Latvian and foreign manufacturers such as Edge Autonomy, Threod Systems, and UAB Deftools. The majority of these drones will be delivered in the fall of this year, with the remainder expected in early 2025. The Lithuanian Ministry of Defense has stated that approximately €200 million will be spent on the purchase of unmanned systems by 2030, with an annual average expenditure of €30 million.

ملخص الأخبار

• لاوتوانيا تعزز قدرات صناعة الدرونز بعد الاستخدام المكثف في الحروب الحديثة، خاصة بعد الغزو الروسي الكامل لأوكرانيا.
• محتوى العقود يتضمن شراء مصنوعات لاتفية وأجنبية، بما في ذلك طائرات من شركات Edge Autonomy و Threod Systems و UAB Deftools.
• معظم الطائرات سيتم تسليمها في خريف هذا العام، مع توقع بقية الدفعة الأولى في بداية عام 2025.
• قطاع الدفاع الليتواني يخطط لإنفاق حوالي 200 مليون يورو على شراء الأنظمة غير المأهولة بحلول عام 2030، بمتوسط إنفاق سنوي يبلغ 30 مليون يورو.