Minister of National Defence Arvydas Anušauskas attended the presentation of Lithuanian unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) manufacturers at the Drone Day 2022 organised by the Ministry of National Defence at Kyviškės Aerodrome. He told reporters that Ukraine offered to invest in Lithuanian companies that could quickly boost the manufacturing of surveillance drones. Ukraine – a country that everyday is asking for military help – will invest in something?
“During my latest visit to Kyiv, I spoke to President [Volodymyr] Zelensky about the capabilities of our industry, what we could offer. Until now, we offered optics, anti-drones, thermovisors, what the military has transferred to Ukraine. However, we also talked about drone production and Ukrainians offered to invest in companies that could sufficiently quickly increase production of the needed surveillance drones,” said Anušauskas. The minister believes that in the future Lithuania could also make UAVs similar to the Turkish Bayraktar.
He also expressed hope that the arsenal of the Lithuanian Armed Forces would have more locally produced drones. The minister stressed that the war in Ukraine showed how important it was to manufacture weapons locally in order to compensate for losses on the battlefield. “There are great opportunities in Lithuania to manufacture drones of various modifications. Of course, a state order is needed, investments are necessary, as well as business interaction because a consortium of different manufacturers would be able to develop the production of drone modifications needed for the Lithuanian military. I think Lithuanians have what to show to others in this area,” Anušauskas said.
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