Lithuania plans clusters to produce explosives, drones and military equipment / day

« The principle is simple – to produce what can be made in Lithuania, » she said at a press conference at the Vilnius Military Academy.

The minister said Lithuania first plans to produce the critical ammunition of the necessary quantities.

« We are able to produce anti -tank mines and other mines here, » she said.

Shakaliene also informed the three planned critical defense industry clusters.

« The first is the ammunition and explosive cluster. The goal is to create an integrated chain of explosives and explosives in Lithuania, which would allow us to independently supply the Lithuanian armed forces and our allies with critically important large and medium caliber ammunition, mines and other explosives, » she said.

As the Minister said, Lithuania needs at least 85,000 anti -tank mine, with EUR 50 million for this purpose.

The other group is intended for the production of unmanned aircraft and anti -mine systems, including the non -stiff aircraft of the distant range of radius.

« I will do my best to attract critical components and technologies here in Lithuania. This process is quite successful, » the minister said.

The third cluster is focused on the production and repair of critically important military equipment.

« Yesterday, we talked to Poland's representatives that in some areas we are already able to provide them with help and maintenance services when it comes to heavy armament, » Shakaliene explained.

The minister said Lithuania also plans to use its « strong civilian maritime cluster » for protection.

« They are ready to switch to the military and we will create the necessary conditions for it, » Shakaliene promised.

« I have talked to the defense ministers of several countries and with the defense industry about how we could involve Lithuanian shipyards. They are ready, want to cooperate and are fully able to do so, » she added.

As Shakaliene said, intensive talks on cooperation with the US, Germany, Ukraine and the Nordic defense industry are currently underway in Lithuania.

« We will continue to support our companies with public orders and purchases. The goal is to adopt the necessary amendments during the spring session to create a real green corridor for the protection industry, » she said.

This category of weapons includes military missiles with explosive battle heads, automatic firearms, ammunition with arms, explosive or ignition charges, all caliber cannons, howitzers, miners, grenade launchers, grenaders, all kinds of bombs, torpedo.

It is also planned to allocate ten million euros to the Miliinvest defense industry for start -ups and to create a new venture capital fund protection industry.

« At a later stage, we will spend 20 million euros, » said Shakaliene.

The minister also said manufacturers would be provided with access to military landfills so that they could test their products.

« Where we will see a critical need for our military needs, we will open landfills to test and test our industry products, » she said.

Shakaliene also announced that the government had a clear model to integrate innovations into the armed forces.

« We also have a vision for the establishment of Holding of the defense industry with state capital so that we have a really functioning ecosystem of the defense industry, » she said.

The Minister emphasized that Lithuania had to accept war -time thinking.

Lithuania increases its defense capabilities in response to a worsening geopolitical situation. The National Defense Council, led by the President, has decided to allocate € 12 to 13 billion in defense funding by 2030, which would increase defense expenses to 5-6% of gross domestic product (GDP).

In their report, the Lithuanian intelligence services have stated that Russia could develop sufficient capacity for limited military action against NATO in three to five years, although this deadline would not be enough to prepare for a large -scale war with the Alliance.

Russia plans to increase its military personnel to 1.5 million people, and this goal is considered to be fulfilling the Lithuanian intelligence services.

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