In support of our fundamental national security interests and the mission to aid Ukraine, Lithuania is acquiring UAVs, drone jamming equipment, optical surveillance devices and laser designators from Lithuanian manufacturers. The Government has ruled it necessary to bypass the regulations regarding security and defence area under the Law on Public Procurement and to commit to the Defence Materiel Agency under the Ministry of National Defence to buy Lithuanian.
The procurement is aimed to meet the objective of providing to Lithuanian and Ukrainian Armed Forces military equipment manufactured or completed in Lithuania in attempt to thus give a boost to the Lithuanian manufacturers to develop their technical capacity in a way that supports the operational capability of unmanned aerial vehicles in the Lithuanian Armed Forces by 2027.
Acquisition of such equipment manufactured or fully assembled in Lithuania will support further development of its production capability, while short supply chains will help ensure uninterrupted, reliable and efficient production, even in the event of war or emergency in Lithuania. Such method of production is supportive of key Lithuanian’s national security interest protection and Ukraine’s interest to maintain a steady supply of military equipment to its Armed Forces.
Drones of different types would be acquired from the Lithuanian companies who make them of complete the last stage of assembly in Lithuania if they met the UAV control software criterion, i.e. ensured it was programmed (adapted) in Lithuania. While the cloud infrastructure used for storing and transferring the UAV data would be based exceptionally in NATO and EU member states.
Optical parts of surveillance devices would be bought locally as well. Thermal imaging and aiming equipment detects thermal print of hostile forces in a particularly short time even in complete darkness, despite smokescreen or fog. Thermal imaging surveillance enable scouts of the Armed Forces of Ukraine to spot and destroy the enemy on time.
Night vision monoculars and binoculars are a critical asset for the Ukrainian military: these enable Ukraine to gain tactical advantage against the aggressor with successful nighttime operations. High efficiency night vision binoculars provide excellent nighttime operational ability, sense of depth, enhanced detection and recognition and of enemy forces and navigation.
The laser designators are used to guide smart ammunition to targets by marking them with a coded laser beam.
