R. Juodka: The defense industry is perhaps the only opportunity for a breakthrough in the high-risk area, our Lithuania

 Advertisement published: 2024-05-28

"For many years, weapons production in Lithuania has been compared to prostitution and human trafficking, and the conditions for the development of this industry are extremely unfavorable, says Robert Juodka, a member of the board of the Lithuanian Defense and Security Industry Association, lawyer, managing partner of Noewe Legal.

What an increased budget of up to 4 percent of GDP would mean for defense, which, according to the "Verslo Tribuna" interviewee, is now perhaps the only real possibility for a breakthrough in the high-risk zone, our country, says R. Juodka."

 

Isn't that how low are we now? The war industry is so risky because all wars end in peace (Vietnam, Iraq, and Afghanistan). With nuclear deterrence, war is only waged against second tier countries that do not have that weapon and are not part of the military blocs that do have that weapon. It is naive to dream of chasing and bombing in China with Western warplanes Chinese President Xi in the same way that the West bombed and chased Libya's President Gaddafi in Libya. As a result, the benefits of wars are minimal, and more often than not, as in Libya, war-induced migration to the West outweighs the benefits.

 

When peace comes, there are more important things than buying weapons. Young people need to study, people need to earn a living. Arms spending drops, military industries go bankrupt. Therefore, banks and private capital avoid financing such companies. Are you sure, is that the kind of breakthrough we wish for Lithuanian business? And those Lithuanian people who have turned Lithuania into a risk zone, we can remove from the Seimas during the Lithuanian Seimas elections.