May 27, 2024
Latvia Wants ‘Drone Army’ to Bolster Industry, National Defense
Bloomberg News
,![An employee holds a Raybird-3 reconnaissance drone system at a manufacturing facility operated by Skyeton, a former light aircraft producer that turned to making unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) for the military and emergency services procured through the 'Army of Drones' fundraising campaign, in Kyiv, Ukraine, on Tuesday, Feb. 14, 2023. A vast donor network in Ukraine has blossomed during a year of war to supply soldiers with everything from boots to battle tanks, in some respects, the support has been as important to Ukraine's survival against Russia’s invading forces as aid from the US and Europe. Photographer: Julia Kochetova/Bloomberg, Bloomberg An employee holds a Raybird-3 reconnaissance drone system at a manufacturing facility operated by Skyeton, a former light aircraft producer that turned to making unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) for the military and emergency services procured through the 'Army of Drones' fundraising campaign, in Kyiv, Ukraine, on Tuesday, Feb. 14, 2023. A vast donor network in Ukraine has blossomed during a year of war to supply soldiers with everything from boots to battle tanks, in some respects, the support has been as important to Ukraine's survival against Russia’s invading forces as aid from the US and Europe. Photographer: Julia Kochetova/Bloomberg](/polopoly_fs/1.2077869.1716869120!/fileimage/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/landscape_620/an-employee-holds-a-raybird-3-reconnaissance-drone-system-at-a-manufacturing-facility-operated-by-skyeton-a-former-light-aircraft-producer-that-turned-to-making-unmanned-aerial-vehicles-uav-for-the-military-and-emergency-services-procured-through-the-army-of-drones-fundraising-campaign-in-kyiv-ukraine-on-tuesday-feb-14-2023-a-vast-donor-network-in-ukraine-has-blossomed-during-a-year-of-war-to-supply-soldiers-with-everything-from-boots-to-battle-tanks-in-some-respects-the-support-has-been-as-important-to-ukraine-s-survival-against-russia-s-invading-forces-as-aid-from-the-us-and-europe-photographer-julia-kochetova-bloomberg.jpg)
(Bloomberg) -- Latvia said it wants to establish a “drone army” as part of efforts to boost production of the local defense industry and strengthen military capabilities in the Baltic region.
The government will invest some 20 million euros ($22 million) this year to develop the project, Defense Minister Andris Spruds said in a post on X.
It follows a similar move last week by his counterpart Laurynas Kasciunas in neighboring Lithuania, which announced it would invest 10 million euros in local production, with 3 million euros dedicated for drones to be sent to Ukraine.
Countries in the Baltic region are developing new defense capabilities to fend off threats from neighboring Russia and Belarus amid spiraling tensions between the Kremlin and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization over the war in Ukraine.
Separately, the Baltic interior ministers said last week that Russia’s European neighbors from Norway to Poland are considering establishing a “drone wall” to track migration, maintain surveillance and to combat smuggling.
©2024 Bloomberg L.P.