The increasing region’s requirement for air defence systems sets the tempo for the industry, says R. Kaunas:

Minister of National Defence Robertas Kaunas met with Minister of Defence of Estonia Hanno Pevkur who is on a visit in Lithuania. Ministers discussed the regional security situation, air de fence, agenda of the upcoming NATO Summit in Ankara, assistance to Ukraine, cooperation on defence industry, and more topics.

"The rapidly growing need for drones and counter-drone systems felt by the Baltic states and the Nordic countries send a message to the defence industry: the scope of production and technology development need to be paced up. The measure of security of our region in the nearest future will be the speed the defence industry is able to put out the product at and the country - to introduce and integrate ensuring response to the modern threats," said Minister R. Kaunas.

Ministers also discussed joint acquisition projects and way ahead, as well as shared experience gained in defence acquisitions.

When addressing the security situation in the world, Ministers focused on the importance of continued assistance to Ukraine, scenarios of the conflict in the Middle East and the vital cooperation with the United States.

Discussing the upcoming NATO Summit, Minister underscored key agenda directions: enhancement of the transatlantic bond, mire European input in collective defence, long-term assistance to Ukraine, and a quicker enhancement of the Alliance-wide integrated air defence. Both Ministers agreed that it was necessary to coordinate and collaborate.

Ministers also exchanged the progress made in strengthening public resilience and readiness for Day X. Just like Lithuania, Estonia actively implements civil resistance and drone training programmes. They discussed the ongoing cooperation and agreed to continue exchanging lessons learned from strengthening public readiness for total defence.

During the visit of the Estonian delegation, President of Estonia Alar Karis, President of Lithuania Gitanas Nausėda, Minister of Defence of Estonia Hanno Pevkur and minister of Defence of Lithuania Robertas Kaunas met with military personnel in Rukla. The delegation was also familiarized on the progress of stationing the German Brigade in Lithuania and enhancement of the Lithuanian Armed Forces' capabilities.