The Lithuanian Defence Ministry is purchasing various types of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) for a total of 36 million euros.
The Defence Materiel Agency has signed contracts for the purchase of small-class reconnaissance drones from Latvia’s Edge Autonomy, mini-class reconnaissance drones from Estonia’s Threod Systems, and micro-class (quadcopter) drones from Lithuania’s Deftools, the ministry said in a press release on Thursday.
Most of the drones will be delivered this autumn and the rest in early 2025, it said.
The procurement is being fast-tracked to strengthen the UAV capability and integrate the drones into the Lithuanian Armed Forces as quickly as possible.
“The acquisition and deployment of UAVs is one of the top priorities in order to have modern armed forces, and the development of this capability, ongoing for over 15 years now, is gaining momentum,” the ministry said.
Around 200 million euros are planned to be allocated for the acquisition of all types of UAVs by 2030, or 30 million euros on average per year, it said.
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