Lithuania has submitted an application for EUR 6.375bn of support from the European Commission’s Security Action for Europe (SAFE) instrument to finance around 50 defence projects, BNS reports. Deputy Defence Minister Karolis Aleksa said that Lithuania would use the EU funds to acquire tanks or tracked infantry fighting vehicles for a national army division. Also,…
Building a “drone wall” on NATO’s eastern flank is a priority for Estonia’s and Europe’s security, Estonian Prime Minister Kristen Michal stated, ERR reports. Speaking at the European Council and European Political Community meeting in Copenhagen, Michal said that political support from NATO allies to strengthen the defence alliance’s eastern border was “very strong.” He…
Estonian Prime Minister Kristen Michal and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte clashed over the defence alliance’s response to Russia’s recent airspace violations, ERR reports, citing Fox News. After Russian fighter jets made a brazen incursion into Estonian airspace on 19 September 2025, Estonia requested consultations under Article 4 of the NATO treaty. Given that NATO…
The first stage of a planned European “drone wall” could be completed by 2028, Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda stated, BNS reports. Speaking ahead of a European Political Community summit in Copenhagen, Nauseda suggested allocating funds for the project’s second stage in the EU’s next multiannual budget. He pointed out that recent events had shown that…
Lithuania has extended the closure of part of the country’s airspace along the border with Belarus until 1 December 2025, the Lithuanian Armed Forces (LGP) announced, BNS reports. LGP pointed to continued security concerns and the need for new legislation to guide military operations. Defence Minister Dovile Sakaliene said that extending the airspace closure was…
The Latvian government has approved amendments to the law on electronic communications that would allow police and border guards to use signal jammers to combat illegal drones, LSM reports. If approved in parliament, the amendments would allow the State Police and the State Border Guard (VRS) to use special radio equipment to interrupt unwanted radio…
Ukraine did not use Estonian airspace in its latest drone attack against Russia’s port of Ust-Luga in the Leningrad region, according to the Estonian Air Force (Õhuvägi), ERR reports. Aivar Hanniotti, coordinator of UAV operations at the Estonian Defence League (Kaitseliit), said that the flight path of the attack drone likely started from Ukraine’s Kyiv…
The Lithuanian Armed Forces (LGP) will equip all its units with first-person view (FPV) drones, Defence Minister Laurynas Kasciunas announced, BNS reports. LGP will create a “drone ecosystem” of various types of air and naval combat drones. Kasciunas said that Lithuania planned to open several new production lines for maritime drones by 2025. The government…
The crash of a Russian attack drone in eastern Latvia on 7 September 2024 has raised concerns about the ability of Baltic air defence systems to protect civilians from unexpected aerial threats, The Baltic Sentinel reports. Critics questioned why the drone, which was equipped with explosives, was not shot down but was instead allowed to…