(Bloomberg) — Latvia said it wants to establish a “drone army” as part of efforts to boost local defense industry production and strengthen military capabilities in the Baltic region.
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The government will invest around 20 million euros in the development of the project this year, Defense Minister Andris Spruds said in a message on X.
It follows a similar move last week by its counterpart Laurynas Kasciunas in neighboring Lithuania, which announced it would invest 10 million euros in local production, of which 3 million euros was earmarked for drones to be sent to Ukraine.
Countries in the Baltic region are developing new defense capabilities to fend off threats from neighboring Russia and Belarus, amid rising tensions between the Kremlin and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization over the war in Ukraine.
Separately, Baltic interior ministers said last week that Russia’s European neighbors from Norway to Poland are considering setting up a “drone wall” to track migration, monitor and combat smuggling.
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