The rotational air defence system, agreed upon during the Vilnius NATO Summit last year, will start operating in Lithuania this year, Defence Minister Arvydas Anušauskas has said.
“This year, the rotational air defence system will finally become operational, at least part of it,” the minister told a press conference in Vilnius on Thursday, adding that Patriot air defence batteries will be deployed in the country.
Lithuania will be the first Baltic state to have a rotational air defence force, the minister pointed out.
“Our goal is to have a rotation similar to the air policing mission. Countries change countries, things move, things come to Lithuania, things go out of Lithuania,” the minister said. “The expectation is that this principle would not be a one-off thing for several months but would cover all of our calendar months and significantly increase our air defence capabilities.”
The minister did not specify which countries would deploy air defence systems but noted that the Patriot system would be deployed in Lithuania by a European country, not the US.
The defence minister vowed to name the countries that would be the first to deploy their air defence systems in Lithuania once the technical nuances and schedules are agreed.
In June 2023, NATO countries agreed on a rotational air defence model in response to calls from the Baltic states to underpin the existing air policing mission.
Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia proposed the deployment of air defence capabilities on a rotational basis in the face of the shortage of air defence weaponry. This means that Western partners would send military equipment to a different Baltic country on a rotational basis.
Lithuania has discussed the possibility of air defence capability deployment with Germany, Sweden, the Netherlands, Italy, and Greece, but no specific agreements have been reached yet.
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