Category
Latest news

Lithuania to Spend €500M on Air Defense, Adds Layer to NATO’s Eastern Flank Security

2 min read
Authors
Photo of Maryna Kulakova
Maryna Kulakova
News Editor
Lithuania to Spend €500M on Air Defense, Adds Layer to NATO’s Eastern Flank Security
Two soldiers guard a German Bundeswehr vehicle near the Lithuania-Kaliningrad border as part of the "Silent Owl" operation, securing NATO's eastern flank through surveillance. (Source: Getty Images)

In the coming years, Lithuania plans to allocate €500 million to develop its air defense systems. However, even this sum will not be enough to guarantee full protection of the country’s airspace.

This was stated by the Commander of the Lithuanian Armed Forces, Raimundas Vaikšnoras, as reported by LRT on September 30.

According to him, the priority will be the protection of border regions and strategic objects. At the same time, Vaikšnoras emphasized that no NATO country can guarantee complete airspace security.

“I want to calm the public a little or dampen expectations that, like all of NATO, like all other countries, we are not able to provide 100% assurance for today, that must be accepted as natural,” the commander stressed.

Lithuanian military officials plan to focus on the mobility of air defense systems, enabling them to move quickly and respond more effectively to threats. This will allow for the detection and neutralization of low-flying targets, including drones.

Vaikšnoras explained that achieving full coverage would require spending approximately 10% of the country’s GDP.

“Because these would be completely different funds, then we would probably be talking about 10 percent for defense or other percentages, if that is the expectation. Therefore, managing expectations is very important. This would be in certain places, but let’s not forget that we still have strategic objects, great attention would also be paid to the protection of important strategic objects, not just the border,” he said.

Vaikšnoras also pointed out that NATO currently lacks a unified solution for combating drones. To address this, the "Eastern Sentinel " operation was recently launched to support allies until they establish their own national systems.

Earlier, Turkey has deployed an advanced AWACS radar plane to Lithuania, boosting NATO’s surveillance in the Baltic after repeated Russian airspace violations, Bloomberg reported on September 24.

See all

The “Eastern Sentinel” operation is a NATO initiative aimed at supporting member countries in their efforts to develop and strengthen air defense systems, particularly in response to threats such as drone incursions. Launched recently, the operation seeks to provide assistance to NATO allies until they can establish their own national defense systems capable of countering drone threats and other aerial risks.

Help Us Break Through the Algorithm

Your support pushes verified reporting into millions of feeds—cutting through noise, lies, and manipulation. You make truth impossible to ignore.

Join MonthlyGive One Time