Lithuania plans to produce naval drones: one for itself, one for Ukraine
Lithuania is considering launching the production of maritime drones and other weapons under the "1+1" scheme – one for itself and one for Ukraine.
"Magura, in my opinion, is an excellent military product," Militarnyi quotes Lithuanian Defence Minister Dovilė Šakalienė as saying. The publication notes that these Magura drones have already proven themselves on the battlefield in the Black Sea and forced the Russian Black Sea Fleet to remain in ports.
In addition to Ukrainian surface attack drones, the Lithuanian Ministry of Defence is also interested in missile drones and other weapons.
The ministry is considering launching joint production of certain types of weapons in Lithuania on a 1+1 basis. Lithuania will pay for the production and transfer half of the weapons to Ukraine.
"That is, we pay for the production of two weapons, one of which is transferred to Ukraine and the other remains in Lithuania, but we pay for both," the minister explained.
"We believe that cooperation in certain areas related to missile drones, maritime drones and other technologies is really very promising," Dovilė said.
Lithuania has recently allocated €20 million to finance certain projects in the Ukrainian defence industry.
Near the port of Novorossiysk, a Ukrainian Magura surface drone shot down a Russian Su-30 fighter jet. The strike was conducted by soldiers of Ukraine’s Defence Intelligence’s Group 13 special unit with a missile. This is the first time in history that a surface drone has successfully shot down a combat aircraft.
Magura V7 is an improved version of the previous Magura V5, which was used to attack enemy ships. It is about 8 metres long and has an improved design for maritime operations in difficult weather conditions.
Earlier it was reported that the plant of the Spanish defence company Tecnove will produce Ukrainian armoured vehicles Djura and Kozak. Tecnove has signed an agreement with the Ukrainian company Praktyka to produce armoured vehicles at its facilities in Erencia, La Mancha (Ciudad Real). The alliance includes the production of two models.