On June 10 the Ministry of National Defence signed a contract with Laisvės TV on targeted support which commits the MoD to procure weaponry for the Bayraktar TB2 UVA for the money crowdfunded by the Lithuania public. The UAV is donated to Lithuania by Türkiye’s Baykar.
“Türkiye will give the UAV which the Lithuanian people have already christened by the name of Vanagas (hawk) with all standard equipment, while the Ministry of National Defence will ensure it is fully armed before delivery to Ukraine,” says Minister of National Defence Arvydas Anušauskas.
By the end of June, the Ministry of National Defence will start a procurement of air-to-surface missiles for arming the drone.
The contract follows Türkiye’s decision to give Lithuania the tactical Bayraktar drone which was supposed to be paid for with funds raised by the Lithuanian people, EUR 5.9 million, and sent to the fighters in Ukraine for free instead. The UAV weaponry will cost EUR 1.5 million. The remaining EUR 4.4 million will be handled by Laisvės TV and used for other kind of assistance, including defence, humanitarian and reconstruction.
The Lithuanian Arid Force is planned to bring the drone to Lithuania for weaponry integration within a few weeks, later it will be delivered to Ukrainian fighters.
Photo credit: Sgt Spc 1st Class L. Tamošiūnas
