The Lithuanian government has asked NATO to help strengthen its air defences after a drone carrying 2 kilograms of explosives entered the country’s airspace from Belarus and crashed in a military training area.
According to multiple media reports, defence minister Dovilė Šakalienė and foreign minister Kęstutis Budrys have sent a letter to NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte to request the deployment of additional, “even experimental,” counter-UAS and wider air defence capabilities.
The drone crossed the border on July 28. On July 10, a Russian military drone crashed about a kilometer inside Lithuania’s territory after entering from Belarus, say media reports.
Lithuania is a key partner in the East Shield and Baltic Defence Line, two interconnected initiatives aimed at strengthening NATO’s eastern flank and deterring potential adversaries. The Baltic Defence Line is a joint project involving Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania, while East Shield is a programme with Poland’ to bolster its eastern border.
Lithuania plans dedicating EUR 1.1 billion over the next 10 years to strengthen its “counter-mobility arsenal”, say government reports.
An investigation into the rogue drone incursion is underway.
For more information
https://www.politico.eu/article/lithuania-nato-air-defense-drone-belarus-russia/
(Image: Lithuania continues living up to its firm commitment to a continued modernization of the Armed Forces with a special focus on air defence. The stocks of GROM missiles have just been re-supplied in the Lithuanian warehouses with EUR 28 million worth of Poland’s MESKO S.A. production contracted for in 2023 – Image: Defence Ministry, Lithuania)
