The Lithuanian Armed Forces’ drone capability should be operational by 2027, the State Defence Council (VGT) decided on Monday.
“We have to achieve operational capability by the end of 2026,” Kęstutis Budrys, the president’s chief national security adviser, told reporters after the president-chaired VGT meeting.
“To do so, the military should develop its drone capability in integration with other capabilities. We don’t see it as a separate unit,” he added.
The council also recommended using Lithuania’s defence industry to develop the drone capability, noting that speeding up the process requires legislative changes.
According to Budrys, around 30 million euros is planned to be allocated annually for drone capability development.
The military previously announced that 200 million euros had been earmarked for the development of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) by 2030.
The council also discussed unmanned maritime systems and underwater drones, the presidential adviser said.
Step toward drone ecosystem
Laurynas Kasčiūnas, chair of the parliamentary Committee on National Security and Defense (NSGK) and Prime Minister Ingrida Šimonytė’s candidate for defence minister, described the VGT meeting as a step toward the creation of a drone ecosystem in the country.
“Production, testing, innovation, and usage – we have started the creation of this ecosystem,” he said.
In January, the NSGK sent an outline on how UAV and counter-measures capabilities should be developed to members of the president-chaired VGT, which also includes the prime minister, the Seimas speaker, the defence minister, and the chief of defence.
“From the concept to what we are actually planning now, I see a step forward, because we are shifting from focusing solely on reconnaissance drones to developing combat ones,” Kasčiūnas said.
According to him, to keep up with technology development, it will not be enough for Lithuania to purchase UAVs from foreign manufacturers. The authorities will also have to think about how to create an “ecosystem with production, testing and innovation in Lithuania” by promoting the drone industry and training centres for specialists.
The Armed Forces told BNS back in January that they were developing drone capabilities based on a concept approved in 2017 and had plans to develop a reconnaissance drone capability within three years, as well as procure combat UAVs as an integral part of anti-tank defence.
Defence Chief Valdemaras Rupšys said in February that the document was being updated in light of the lessons of the war in Ukraine.
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