Association chief: Drone industry could produce more with large orders

“If the first start-up (big order – BNS) is made now in the field of defense industry drones, then everything will normalize and we will have a well-functioning clock,” association director Vaidas Sabaliauskas told LRT radio on Monday.

“Weapons and defense products are not made off the shelf because it is not clear what specifications the procuring organization will need. In general, this is not a consumer product, so everything is made to order only. Now, if we haven’t had orders for a long time and suddenly a larger order is placed, it is, of course, faced with bottlenecks and adjustments in supply chains, hiring employees, and the like,” he explained.

According to V. Sabaliauskas, if Lithuania would continuously provide support to Ukraine with Lithuanian drones, it would encourage the use of drones in the Lithuanian army and simultaneously enter Western markets.

“What would really secure the field for the drone defense industry, ignite, prepare the business to produce drones in large quantities for Day X, encourage an abundance of manufacturers and competition. In addition, it would stimulate the demand and use of Lithuanian drones in the Lithuanian army, which would help drone manufacturers integrate their technologies into the NATO defense system, which would be a sign of business quality and turn into a springboard for businesses to enter Western markets,” said the director of the association.

Both President Gitanas Nausėda and the National Security and Defense Committee of the Seimas have criticized the army and the Ministry of National Defense for insufficient attention to drones.

The Minister of Economy and Innovation Aušrinė Armonaitė says that drones are already being produced in Lithuania, and the Ukrainian army also uses them, but these capabilities might be developed even faster in the country. According to her, Lithuanian defense institutions must be open and flexible to the use of drones for national defense, as this technology is developing extremely rapidly.