Lithuania plans up to €800 million for Šiauliai air base
Sunday 13th September 2026 on 23:00 in
Lithuania
Lithuania plans to invest between €300 million and €400 million in the Šiauliai military air base by 2030, with total investment eventually reaching €800 million, LRT reports. Defence Minister Robertas Kaunas said the upgrades would ensure the base can support NATO air defence missions and accommodate fifth-generation fighter jets.
The planned work includes additional hangars, stronger security measures and new aircraft taxiways. The runway, built in 2006, is also due for renovation so it can be used by current fifth-generation fighters, according to Lieutenant Colonel Eligijus Rukšnaitis, commander of the Lithuanian Air Force Aviation Base.
More NATO members in Europe are ordering or receiving F-35 fighters, the only fifth-generation fighters that the United States sells to its allies. Kaunas said Lithuania was negotiating with NATO over funding, and that NATO itself would finance a substantial share of the planned work.
The base is being adapted for fighter missions as NATO’s air policing mission transitions into an air defence mission. In recent months, training has intensified, and fighters have taken off and successfully shot down drones, the report said.
Kaunas said Lithuania was also considering buying light attack aircraft after 2030 to strengthen its air capabilities. The military is assessing propeller-driven aircraft, which he said could be used for counter-drone defence, including against Shahed drones.
Arvydas Pocius, a member of the Seimas National Security and Defence Committee and a former army commander, said Lithuania could also consider acquiring attack helicopters such as the Apache. He said a future regional formation involving the Baltic and Nordic countries could consider acquiring and operating F-35 fighters, including at the Šiauliai base.
Several years ago, retired US generals conducted a simulation in which the Lithuanian army and a German brigade repelled Russian forces advancing from several directions. The exercise used Apache attack helicopters.