First of the French-made Parrot Anafi UKR micro drones (quadcopters) have reached warehouses of the Lithuanian Armed Forces. The Defence Materiel Agency under the Ministry of National Defence signed the EUR 2.5 million Parrot Anafi UKR procurement contract with Deftools UAB this June.
“We are step by step developing capabilities of different types of drones in the Lithuanian Armed Forces so that we are able not just to train more operators but also strengthen our operational capabilities,” says Minister of National Defence Laurynas Kasčiūnas.
The Parrot Anafi UKR drones were developed as a result of an international programme for providing the Ukrainian military with an effective micro multirole platform. The UAVs are the latest design by Parrot fitted for the complex challenges of electronic warfare. The Parrot Anafi UKR micro drones have been unloaded at Lithuanian Armed Forces warehouses and awaits the first operator training activities soon to begin.
The Defence Materiel Agency signed a contract this July on acquisition of different types of drones: small class surveillance uncrewed aircraft systems from a Latvian company Edge Autonomy, mini class surveillance drones from an Estonian Threod Systems, and micro class drones (quadcopters) from Deftools UAB. The contracts are worth nearly EUR 36 million. Most of the drones will be delivered this autumn and the remainder – in early 2025.
The acquisitions are implemented as a matter of urgency to strengthen the UAV capability and integrate it in the Lithuanian Armed Forces as soon as possible. All types and military dimension of combat systems and enablers are developed in the Lithuanian Armed Forces. Acquisition and integration of UAVs is among key priorities in the effort to have modern armed forces, therefore its development of gathering pace after 15 years of attention to the area. The Armed Forces is enabled with existing and further developed drone capabilities which will be integrated through a training system already put in place.
Approx. EUR 200 million is planned to be dedicated for drone of all types procurements until 2030, the average of EUR 30 million a year.
