Five out of six Lithuanian drone manufacturers have successfully passed tests in Ukraine and are looking to sign contracts with the Defence Ministry. The companies say that private investors are not enough – government contracts are what move drone development forward.
Made in Kaunas, the Baltic Vipers will be used to defend Ukraine. The FPV drones were developed by the company Dangolakis and have been performing a variety of missions for more than a year. The manufacturer is making improvements based on feedback from Ukrainian soldiers.
Martynas Andriejavas, the company’s director for commerce, says the development of drones started with a desire to help Ukrainians. Now the company is eager to have its products mass-produced and put to use – including in Lithuania.
Drones are today what tanks were in the First World War, he says.
Dangolakis is one of five Lithuanian companies whose drones under development have successfully passed tests in Ukraine. This means that the Ministry of Defence will buy the drones – 5 million euro worth of them – to send to Ukraine. Another 3 million will be spent to procure Lithuanian-made drones for the Lithuanian armed forces.
“We give not just the drones, but entire solutions to individual units to test in order to get feedback. Then we can adapt our production exactly to their needs,” says Andrejavas.
Unmanned Defense Systems is another company whose drones passed tests in Ukraine. According to its CEO Vytenis Buzas, this can give the three-year-old company the needed boost to further develop products.
“Private investors alone are not enough. We also need real purchases so that we can communicate with a real customer. In this case, the Defence Ministry is a real customer. They put forward their requirements, we win the contract, we test and try, then we apply everything in real space,” notes Buzas.
The company’s main product is a fixed-wing drone designed for reconnaissance and destruction.
However, the production intended for Ukraine is not necessarily suitable for the militaries of NATO countries. There are special regulations, licenses and specifications for how weapons must work and look. For example, FPV drones intended for Ukraine could not be used by NATO.
“Installation of the explosive, its initiation, activation and deactivation of the detonator, ignition of the wires, resistance to moisture and the like. We have products that meet the requirements set by NATO, we know what this means and we compare it with what is sufficient for Ukraine today according to technical requirements. It is the FPVs that will still need to reach that point, and we will have to invest and try to adapt it for NATO forces,” explains Buzas.
The Ministry of Defence says that contracts with Lithuanian manufacturers will be tentatively signed this week.
“3 million euros is the initial need to equip all of our forces – regular and volunteers, as well as the training centre that we will establish, the Military Academy, and the Plechavicius Cadet Lyceum integrated into the national defence system. So that we can get all that dronisation moving,” says Defence Minister Laurynas Kasciunas.
According to the minister, the FPV drones to be purchased will be used for training. (LRT)