Prime minister calls for larger air defence share in defence budget

Prime Minister Mindaugas Sinkevičius said next year’s defence budget should be at least 5% of gross domestic product and that a larger share should be allocated to air defence, LRT reported Wednesday.

“I think so,” Sinkevičius told reporters after visiting the Airspace Surveillance and Control Centre in Kaunas District.

He said strengthening air defence was necessary as the number of related incidents increased. Lithuania had recorded seven incidents involving drones entering its airspace over the past several years, he said.

Sinkevičius said discussions were under way on air defence, detection and the timely identification and tracking of objects entering the country’s airspace. He added that work was also progressing on kinetic measures, including short and long-range systems, but that financial and production constraints limited how quickly they could be developed.

This year, Lithuania’s defence budget amounts to 5.38% of GDP.

The Airspace Surveillance and Control Centre operates around the clock to monitor and control Lithuania’s airspace and its approaches. It also manages fighter jets participating in the Baltic air policing mission, responds to airspace violations, coordinates search and rescue and transplant flights, integrates NATO units and plans air operations.

Lithuania has previously said it aims to have a fully integrated air defence detection system before 2030.