Lithuania flag. Stock Photo: Getty Images
Lithuania is preparing to deploy a drone acoustic detection system developed in Ukraine, which is expected to be introduced in 2026.
Source: European Pravda; Raimundas Vaikšnoras, Commander of the Lithuanian Armed Forces, in a conversation with Lithuanian public broadcaster LRT, amid discussions about another incident involving a drone entering Lithuanian airspace
Details: Vaikšnoras was asked whether Lithuania would have an acoustic drone detection system and when – to complement the existing radar systems, which have their own technical limitations.
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Quote from Vaikšnoras: “This year has been the starting point, as we have allocated funds for the purchase. Testing will take place by the end of the year, and, as the Air Force Commander mentioned today, from next year the use of these systems will begin.”
Details: Vaikšnoras added that the process had been somewhat delayed due to bureaucratic procedures, because “this is, so to speak, a Ukrainian system that had to be adapted to our US systems due to sensitive nuances”. It had previously been mentioned that the system in question is Sky Fortress.
He also said that additional air defence systems would be deployed closer to the border with Belarus.
Background:
On the morning of 28 July, a drone similar to a Shahed UAV flew into Lithuania.
Police were alerted to the presence of the drone, believed to have entered Lithuanian airspace from Belarus, after receiving multiple eyewitness reports near the border. The last sighting was near Vilnius.
Minister of National Defence Dovilė Šakaliene suggested that the drone might have flown into Lithuanian territory because of a Ukrainian electronic warfare system.
A similar incident occurred on 10 July, when a Gerbera UAV (Shahed-type drone) flew into Lithuania via Belarus. Lithuania subsequently sent a note of protest to Belarus.
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