“The State Defense Council has decided that operational capability, in terms of drone capabilities, must be achieved by the end of 2026, 2027. In order to carry out that work, the army should develop the drone capability in an integrated manner with other capabilities – we do not see it as a separate unit,” presidential adviser Kęstutis Budrys told reporters after the meeting.
“That means we don’t see it as a separate unit of some kind, it’s in interaction with the platforms that we have: whether it’s with our communications systems and in general with our tactical operation of the military,” he added.
K. Budrys also noted that during the VGT meeting, it was agreed to recommend the development of drone capabilities with the help of the Lithuanian defense industry.
“The State Defense Council decided to recommend the Ministry of National Defense and the Lithuanian Army to develop drone capabilities with the capabilities of the Lithuanian defense industry,” he informed.
According to K. Budris, it is planned to allocate about 30 million to the development of drone capacity every year. euros. The army has previously announced that by 2030 200 million is planned for the development of drones. euros.
At the beginning of the year, the National Security and Defense Committee of the Seimas also discussed the development of drone systems. The chairman of the committee, Laurynas Kasčiūnas, assured that Lithuania already has the potential to expand the production of combat FPV (first-person view) drones. Therefore, the committee headed by him prepared and submitted to the VGT the concept of strengthening the drone systems in the Lithuanian army.
As provided by the Constitution, VGT considers and coordinates the most important issues of state defense. The council includes the president, the prime minister, the speaker of the Seimas, the minister of national defense and the commander of the army. The Council is headed by the President.
Laurynas Kasčiūnas: we might have good news at the beginning of next year
NSGK chairman L. Kasčiūnas, who participated in the VGT meeting, said that Lithuania needs a drone ecosystem that includes their production, testing, innovation and use.
“We started this ecosystem creation. Amendments to legal acts have been submitted, which will allow us to kindle the Lithuanian drone industry in a certain sense, so that state institutions can buy Lithuanian drones, because of which we had some obstacles,” he said.
L. Kasčiūnas noted that the goal is to integrate drones into the Lithuanian army. For this, NSGK has prepared a concept for the integration of drones into the armed forces, from which, according to the chairman of the committee, “a step forward” has already been made.
“From concept to now, what we are planning now in real time and into the near future, I see a step forward.” Just from focusing on reconnaissance drones, we are finally moving on to the development of combat drones. Small FPV drones are becoming an integral part of our armed forces,” said L. Kasčiūnas.
He added that a process for training drone operators is also currently being developed.
Another priority is anti-drone networks. According to L. Kasčiūnas, enemy drone destruction systems are being integrated into the Lithuanian army.
“A flying missile project is being developed, where a drone can destroy another incoming drone. By the beginning of next year, we may already have good knowledge in this area. This is a project of our Lithuanian industry”, emphasized the chairman of NSGK.
“When we destroy enemy drones, the dilemma is that the system you destroy with is not more expensive than the drone that comes in,” he explained.
Laurynas Kasčiūnas positively assesses Aušrinė Armonaitė’s proposals regarding simpler testing of defense industry products in Lithuania
L. Kasčiūnas positively assesses the changes to the laws proposed by the Minister of Economy and Innovation, Aušrinė Armonaitė, regarding the reduction of bureaucracy in the national defense system, so that defense companies will be given the opportunity to test their products in Lithuania.
“I think there are a lot of wise proposals from the Minister of Economy and Innovation (…) Despite our current, let’s say, biggest honeymoon. I highly value her proposals, her initiatives, and I will definitely contribute as much as I can to strengthen and improve them,” L. Kasciūnas told reporters after the VGT meeting.
According to the politician, in the amendments to the Defense Industry Law, which he has already submitted and passed the consideration stage, it is proposed to allow Lithuanian drone manufacturers to use Chinese parts in the production of drones during the transition period.
“There are other things besides that, the Law on Defense Industry needs to be strengthened, which can also help to start the Lithuanian drone industry here (…) If we buy those drones for testing, training and assistance to Ukraine, it would be possible to use Chinese parts at least for a short time with the aim of that they would be abandoned as soon as possible”, added L. Kasčiūnas.
“We cannot follow the documents of the last century”
Army representatives told BNS in January that they are developing drone capabilities according to the concept approved in 2017, informed about existing plans to develop intelligence drone capabilities within three years and purchase combat drones that would be part of anti-tank defense.
Army Commander Valdemaras Rupšys said in February that this document is constantly updated in response to the lessons of the war in Ukraine.
K. Budrys says that this is not a separate document, but an update of the plans, which was prompted by the concept proposed by NSGK.
“This is a living process, 2017, 2024 are different worlds, we cannot be guided by the documents of the last century,” said the presidential adviser.
Some Lithuanian politicians began to pay more attention to drones as the Russian invasion of Ukraine continues, where both sides use these drones for various tasks, from reconnaissance to destroying enemy targets.
Gitanas Nausėda wanted more attention to drones
Both the President and the National Security and Defense Committee of the Seimas have criticized the army and the Ministry of National Defense for not paying enough attention to drones.
Back in January, the latter was interested in how the ministry and the army plan to develop drone capabilities. According to the chairman of the committee, the current candidate for the Minister of National Defense, Lauryns Kasčiūnas, the capabilities of the drones planned to be purchased and available by the army would be enough for “one strong battle”, but not for a long-term war with Russia.
At that time, the Seimas Committee sent estimates to the members of the VGT – the President, Prime Minister, Speaker of the Seimas, the Minister of National Defense and the Commander of the Army – on how and in which directions the capabilities of drones and countermeasures could be developed.
Some Lithuanian politicians began to pay more attention to drones as the Russian invasion of Ukraine continues, where both sides use these drones for various tasks, from reconnaissance to destroying enemy targets.
President G. Nausėda said at the beginning of February that, in his opinion, the army has not fully realized the fact that the development of drones is a very important part of the defense strategy. He mentioned that he would propose to discuss that issue in the VGT.
For their part, military development officers say drones can be used for reconnaissance and support, but overstating their capabilities on the battlefield could divert politicians’ attention from other important purchases, such as tanks.
According to land system officials, operational and strategic objectives are achieved during conflicts with heavy weapons, and on the battlefield, the interaction of all units is important.
