Lithuania’s Defense Ministry is not considering changing its planned defense acquisitions to prioritize strengthening air defense.
“There is no ongoing discussion about this right now, and I do not think it would be a good decision,” Deputy Defense Minister Karolis Aleksa told reporters on Thursday after a closed-door meeting of the parliamentary Committee on National Security and Defense (CNSD), which was convened following a Russian-made Gerbera drone entering Lithuanian airspace from Belarus last week.
Aleksa explained that anti-drone measures can be financed from existing resources, as they do not require billion-euro-level investments. “Surveillance systems, radars – these are not huge amounts of money,” he added.
On Wednesday, the opposition conservative Homeland Union – Lithuanian Christian Democrats called on the CNSD to strengthen Lithuania’s air defense program by increasing its capabilities and establishing a separate budget.
The party’s leader, Laurynas Kasčiūnas, a former defense minister, said that the recently announced decision to purchase three Brazilian Embraer C-390 Millennium military transport planes should probably be given less priority. He also suggested splitting up the procurement of tanks, giving priority to acquiring air defense systems.
“I don’t believe it is necessary to dismantle our comprehensive capabilities. We are well aware that the planes we are talking about here are also important for our defense. In a crisis or war, they would be crucial for transporting supplies, reassurance cargo, and evacuation,” Aleksa said. “We should not set the capabilities we are developing against each other.”
Speaking about anti-drone measures, Aleksa emphasized: “Some solutions are financially manageable, they can be implemented efficiently, and there should not be a major financial challenge. Therefore, I would say there is no reason to cancel or cut large projects that are critical for other defense needs.”
According to Aleksa, Lithuania plans to invest up to 2 billion euros in air defense systems by 2030, with a significant portion allocated to munitions. Around 200 million euros is earmarked specifically for anti-drone measures.
Source: BNS
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