Two of them will be adapted for officers of the State Border Guard Service (VSAT) to carry out radiological reconnaissance from the air, one – for Kaliningrad transit control.
This technique is purchased by the State Border Guard Service (VSAT) from Airbus Helicopters Deutschland GmbH, a subsidiary of the aircraft manufacturer Airbus. This manufacturer was selected after unannounced negotiations.
The helicopters for radiation reconnaissance are purchased from the state budget, they will cost 46 million. euros.
“In order to fully ensure a 24/7 response in the event of an accident at the Astrav NPP in Belarus, it is necessary to have at least two new, technically sound helicopters of the same type, specially adapted for aerial radiological reconnaissance. The currently available VSAT helicopter models are not completely suitable for aerial aerial reconnaissance of wide areas, situation monitoring and forecasting, and area reconnaissance,” VSAT representative Giedrius Mišutis told BNS.
Both purchased helicopters will be used to perform other functions as well: during floods – for reconnaissance of flooded areas, evacuation of people, transportation of donor organs, state border control, search and rescue of missing persons, search for illegal migrants and the like.
“The unpredictable neighborhood of Russia and Belarus – the challenges related to the Kaliningrad transit control and the threats posed by the Astrav NPP – oblige our border guards to be on special alert,” said Interior Minister Agnė Bilotaitė in a comment transmitted to BNS.
“For important purchases, money is allocated not only from the state budget, we make a lot of efforts to allocate European funding for this as well. After the Ministry of Internal Affairs appealed to the European Commission, 24 million was allocated to strengthen transit control in Kaliningrad alone. euros of European funds”, she added.
11 million are purchased from these EU funds. a helicopter worth EUR, which will strengthen the monitoring of Russian trains passing through Lithuania to and from the Kaliningrad region.
It is expected that the first two VSAT helicopters will be delivered in 2024, and the third in 2025.
Currently, the VSAT Aviation Board has five helicopters: two Eurocopter 120B Colibri, two Eurocopter 135 and one Eurocopter 145.
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