Signals from Brussels on anti-drone funding are positive - Lithuanian defense minister

VILNIUS - Lithuania's Defense Minister Robertas Kaunas said on Monday that signals from Brussels on additional European Commission funding for anti-drone defenses were positive, after the Baltic states requested urgent financial support.

Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia on Monday appealed to the European Commission for an urgent allocation of 500 million euros to bolster their anti-drone capabilities. According to Kaunas, the Baltic states' priority is air defense, with Lithuania focusing primarily on drone detection and kinetic capabilities. The minister said the Commission would consider the request, with the specific purpose of the funding to be defined during negotiations.

The countries hope the European Union can provide additional funding for regional drone defense as early as 2026. Sources suggest that strengthening anti-drone defenses is an urgent matter, as Russia may seek to test NATO's Article 5 with drone attacks against the Alliance's eastern flank.

"Russia will certainly not stop; its entire economy today is a war economy. Even if a ceasefire or peace is reached, Russia will still produce weaponry. (...) This means our defense industry must move forward even faster. When we have negotiating agreements with various manufacturers today, we are usually talking not about quantities, but about deadlines. Manufacturers, unfortunately, put everything into a very long queue; lead times are long, instead of us receiving the ordered production faster," Kaunas said.

"By having a strong army and strong weaponry on our lands, we will certainly deter Russia," he added.