Lithuanian Armed Forces have started training instructors to operate FPV drones and hope to have such operators within all of its major units.
The training started last week, and journalists were briefed on the new course at the Brigadier General Kazys Veverskis training area near Kazlų Rūda on Wednesday.
“The training of people and the adaptation of the system itself are equally important. This is basically a new thing not only for people but also for the Armed Forces,” said Major Šarūnas Savukaitis, a representative of the Defence Staff of the Lithuanian Armed Forces, who is working in the field of UAV development.
“This is an ongoing process that can take up to a couple of years before you can work with certain drones in large units,” he added.
According to Colonel Ričardas Dumbliauskas, around ten soldiers are partaking in the first FPV drone course, and they will later train other soldiers to use military equipment that has gained popularity during the war in Ukraine.
The drones being used for training can carry up to four kilograms of ammunition, and the distance between the drone and its operator can reach about ten kilometres, Savukaitis said.
According to the Armed Forces, the FPV drone training course is based on the experience of Ukrainian soldiers fighting against the Russian invasion and the realities of the battlefield in Ukraine.
FPV drones allow the operator to see a target and the environment on a screen in real time. In Ukraine, these drones are being used to destroy live forces and enemy equipment.
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