“The Ministry of Economy and Innovation (EIM) will allocate
€1 million to companies that will propose how to protect Lithuanian airspace
from balloons and other flying objects that have paralyzed Vilnius Airport four
times in the past week.
“We will announce a technology and innovation program, for
which we are allocating up to €1 million from the EIM. Its goal is to address
the current challenges related to the security of Lithuanian airspace,”
Minister of Economy and Innovation Edvinas Grikšas told reporters after a
meeting with representatives of the defense industry and innovation on Monday.
“We will launch this program within 24 hours and invite
representatives of business and science to submit applications,” Deputy
Minister of Economy Paulius Petrauskas told reporters.
According to him, the ministry hopes to find “quick
solutions within three months that we can apply to solving air defense
problems.”
“Our goal is for balloons that cross the Lithuanian border
to stay there (in Belarus – BNS),” said P. Petrauskas.
The politician emphasized that at Monday’s meeting, business
representatives assured that they already have solutions: “We want to see them
and, if possible, apply them immediately.”
According to the vice minister, a commission composed of
representatives of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Ministry of National
Defense and the Ministry of Internal Affairs will select the best ideas.
“It could be one, two or three solutions. It will depend on
what business offers,” said P. Petrauskas when asked if 1 million euros in
financing would be enough for several projects.
When journalists asked whether there are currently measures
to combat similar airspace violations, P. Petrauskas said that he believes that
they are still lacking.
“We should ask the Ministry of the Interior, but if we
haven’t purchased it today, I assume that there may not be such a solution on
the market,” the vice-minister said.
Electronic and kinetic warfare means
P. Petrauskas said that companies that offer anti-drone
systems, intelligence systems, other IT or engineering means are invited to
apply for EIM funding from their own appropriations.
At the time, the president of the Lithuanian Confederation
of Industrialists, Vidmantas Janulevičius, said that there are companies in
Lithuania that could offer how to protect the airspace from objects such as
weather balloons used by smugglers.
According to him, such aircraft can also be shot down by
kinetic means, for example, by gunfire.
“This is not just electronic warfare, because the balloon
itself does not have any other components – it just flies. We are talking about
kinetic warfare here, but perhaps not only shooting, but also other means. Or
maybe both together. There are several possible methods, and I hope that after
the program is announced, the companies themselves will present them,” V.
Janulevičius told reporters.
“The Confederation of Industrialists certainly has at least
two or three possible solutions among its members that could be applied to
solve this problem,” he added.
According to V. Janulevičius, the funding will help
companies develop specific technological air defense measures.
According to the head of the confederation, a solution must
be found on how to shoot down such objects cheaply, without incurring losses.
However, he said that 1 million euros is enough only “purely
for developing ideas and presenting the concept”, and from the new year the
business expects separate funding.
Due to the presence of contraband cigarette balloons launched
from Belarus, airports in Lithuania were closed three times last weekend,
affecting a total of 112 flights and over 16,500 passengers.
In the middle of last week, several dozen contraband
balloons were also recorded entering Lithuanian territory. As a result, the
work of Vilnius Airport was also disrupted, affecting about 30 flights and over
4,000 passengers.”
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