The parliamentary Committee on National Security and Defence (NSGK) proposed on Wednesday to postpone the purchase of three Embraer military transport aircraft.
“Our statement after the vote in the committee is that we propose to postpone the decision on the purchase of military transport aircraft until the first division of the Lithuanian army is formed and reaches full operational capability, and integrated air defense is developed,” Giedrimas Jeglinskas, the NSGK chairman, told reporters in the Seimas after the committee’s meeting on Wednesday.
Lithuania’s plans to acquire three Embraer C-390 Millennium military transport aircraft were made public after a meeting of the State Defence Council in mid-June.
The exact cost of the three aircraft is not yet clear, but preliminary estimates put the price tag at around 700 million euros. The first aircraft would be delivered to Lithuania in 2028, with others to follow after 2030.
Meanwhile, a fully operational national division is planned to be developed within the military by 2030.
Deputy Defence Minister Karolis Aleksa, who participated in the NSGK meeting, told reporters that the purchase of new aircraft would not prevent the military division from being developed on time.
Meanwhile, Chief of Defense Raimundas Vaikšnoras reiterated that the Embraer aircraft would replace the “old, worn-out” C-27J Spartan transport aircraft.
It is said that the Spartan aircraft will no longer be able to fly in European Union airspace from 2030, and their use will have to be completely discontinued between 2036 and 2039.
“Can we do it now or later? The question here is how we can implement it smoothly into our operations without getting distracted ,” Vaikšnoras said.
“Especially since there is now a joint European project, where the negotiating position is much easier and it is possible to negotiate much more favorable terms, both for repairs and maintenance, as well as for training later on," he added.
Jeglinskas argued that these arguments were not convincing.
“When our sky is full of holes, when we have a division that we have to form by 2030, [...] there are a lot of things we need to invest even more money in," he said.
Jeglinskas and the committee’s deputy chair, Laurynas Kasčiūnas, turned to the Special Investigation Service (STT) regarding the purchase of new aircraft last week.
Both are members of the parliamentary opposition.
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