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ECHOES OF UKRAINIAN MILITARY INNOVATION ⟩ Lithuania Equips All Military Units with FPV Drones and Starts Producing Naval Unmanned Vehicles

Photo: GENYA SAVILOV/AFP
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All units of the Lithuanian Armed Forces will be equipped with first-person view (FPV) drones and by 2025, Lithuania's industry is expected to have several new production lines for maritime drones, according to Defense Minister Laurynas Kasciunas.

"We've decided to buy FPV drones for all branches of the military," Kasciunas said at the Pabradė training area after he and Chief of Defense Lieutenant General Raimundas Vaikšnoras presented plans for the acquisition and integration of drones.

"This will include integrating the National Defense Volunteer Force, the Military Academy and the General Povilas Plechavicius Cadet Lyceum to create a drone ecosystem within our armed forces," the minister said.

Lithuanian Chief of Defense Brigadier General Raimundas Vaiksnoras has emphasized the need to learn as much as possible from the war in Ukraine and use these lessons in strengthening NATO.
Lithuanian Chief of Defense Brigadier General Raimundas Vaiksnoras has emphasized the need to learn as much as possible from the war in Ukraine and use these lessons in strengthening NATO. Photo: Lithuanian Defense Forces

"By the end of this year, FPV drones will be in our troops' hands," he added.

The plans call for providing the Lithuanian Armed Forces with various types of unmanned aerial vehicles, including air and naval combat drones.

Acquisitions are planned for tactical and operational levels, reconnaissance, target identification and destruction.

"We can't lag behind (...). Previously, we had Chinese-made drones, but we realized that we aren't on the same path with them. We sent those drones to Ukraine and now need to fill that capability gap, which is what we are going to do," Vaikšnoras said.

An FPV (first person view) drone during a test flight.
An FPV (first person view) drone during a test flight. Photo: VALENTYN OGIRENKO/REUTERS

In early August, the government allocated an additional 20 million euros to speed up the procurement of various types of unmanned aerial systems and to train their operators.

About 8 million euros is planned for purchasing small drones from the United States, 7.5 million euros for mini drones from Lithuanian companies, 3 million euros for micro FPV combat air drones, and 1 million euros for naval combat drones. Up to 500,000 euros is earmarked for further organizing drone training and establishing a drone competence center.

The plans also call for integrating maritime surface drones into the Navy.

"We've decided to build this capability. We'll test and evaluate; we have Lithuanian manufacturers and there are also companies from other countries that will allow us to see how drones perform in the Baltic Sea," Kasciunas said.

By 2025, Lithuania's industry is expected to have several new production lines for maritime drones.

Reconnaissance drone produced by the Estonian company Threod Systems.
Reconnaissance drone produced by the Estonian company Threod Systems. Photo: Threod Systems

In the first half of this year, the Defense Materiel Agency signed contracts for the purchase of brigade-level (small-class) reconnaissance drones from Latvia's Edge Autonomy, and mini-class reconnaissance drones from Estonia's Threod Systems, which are already being used by the State Border Guard Service.

A contract was also signed to buy micro-class (quadcopter) drones from Lithuania's Deftools.

Most of the drones are expected to be delivered this fall and the rest in early 2025.

The military has included unmanned aerial vehicle and anti-drone system training in the program for conscripts and is conducting UAV instructor courses for professional service members.

The integration of drone training into the conscript program began in early August. The instructor course started in late June, with the aim of training around 100-150 operators this year, according to the minister.

The Defense Ministry announced earlier this week that the Defense Materiel Agency is buying drones worth 8 million euros from five Lithuanian manufacturers.

The Lithuanian Armed Forces will receive more than 2,300 combat drones worth 3 million euros, and nearly 5,000 drones of the same type, worth 5 million euros, will be delivered to the Ukrainian Armed Forces.

Kasciunas said a total of around 56 million euros has been allocated for drone acquisitions this year.

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