Lithuanian forces link soldiers, drones and artillery in exercises

Lithuania’s military has tested how quickly battlefield information can be turned into decisions and concrete action, LRT reported, citing a statement from the Lithuanian Armed Forces.

The work began with the Karo šauklys 2026 exercise in February and continued through the international Bold Quest 2026 exercise, which ended on Friday.

During Karo šauklys 2026, the Land Forces trained the full “kill chain” for the first time as an integrated system. This covers detecting and identifying a target, making a decision, engaging it and assessing the impact.

The main goal was to reduce the time between detecting a target and engaging it by connecting intelligence, communications, command and fire-support elements. Fourteen Lithuanian and foreign companies took part in the exercise, more than half of them Lithuanian.

Bold Quest 2026 focused on ensuring that different systems could exchange information and operate as parts of a single battle-management system. One example was the integration of unmanned aircraft systems, allowing information collected by different platforms to be transferred to a common military information environment and used for decision-making.

Digital tools used by soldiers were also developed. Through a phone application, a soldier can receive operational information, mark an observed object, create fire missions, connect to unmanned aircraft systems and monitor the information they transmit. This allows data from different sources to be incorporated more quickly into a common operational picture.

For the first time this year, some of the exercise network equipment remained in Lithuania while it was accessed remotely from the United States through a secure network. The arrangement tested how capabilities located in different countries could operate within one technological environment.

Another first was a live-fire exercise in which unmanned aircraft were used to identify targets, while fire missions were sent to operators of HIMARS indirect long-range fire-support systems located in the United States. The exercise trained the process of requesting allied long-range fire support for the defence of Lithuanian territory.

Bold Quest 2026 also highlighted the importance of Lithuania’s defence industry. As unmanned systems technology changes rapidly, the military needs equipment and the ability to maintain, repair and adapt it to new requirements. Lithuanian companies supported the exercises by providing technical assistance, equipment and services.

Over the seven months since Karo šauklys 2026 began, the military has moved from testing separate target-detection and engagement processes to linking a broader range of systems, personnel and communications tools. Further work on target detection, information transfer and engagement is planned during DiBaX 2026, organised by NATO’s Allied Command Transformation, in October.