„Whether it was an armed or unarmed drone, first of all, let's be glad that the drone, if it did have explosives, did not explode – that's important,“ Jeglinskas told ELTA.
„But it is even more important to understand that there will be more drones. Yes, this was the first and second case, but there will be a third, fourth, and fifth. The fact is that they can be armed (...). We need to finally pull our heads out of the sand and understand what we are going to do to protect Lithuania's airspace and the people of Lithuania,“ said the NSGK chairman.
According to him, it is essential to be able not only to identify unidentified objects appearing in the airspace, but also to neutralise them if necessary.
Susiję straipsniai
„We may not be able to control these things now, whether such drones will fly in or not in the future, but what we should control is the security of our airspace. And to see what is flying in and be able, dare, if necessary, to neutralise those drones,“ explained Jeglinskas.
A similar position is held by Laurynas Kasčiūnas, leader of the Homeland Union – Lithuanian Christian Democrats (TS-LKD). According to him, to avoid greater risks and dangers, it is necessary to strengthen the detection and neutralisation capabilities of unidentified flying objects and to expedite the acquisition of the required equipment.
„We just need to do all our homework. There is always a risk that it (the drone – ELTA) could be carrying explosives,“ the Conservative leader told ELTA.
„We have to deal with detection, with being able to distinguish that a drone is flying, to see it at a lower altitude (...). Now we just need to speed up purchases and make this a priority (...). The next thing, without a doubt, is the ability to neutralise such drones. Whether it is soft neutralisation (...) or hard neutralisation (...), all purchases and acquisitions must now be oriented in this direction,“ he added.
As previously reported, on Tuesday evening, it became clear that the drone that flew from Belarus to Lithuania last Monday and was found at the Gaižiūnai training ground at the end of last week was carrying an explosive device, which army specialists neutralised.
According to Minister of National Defence Dovilė Šakalienė, it is suspected that this was a Russian Gerbera drone launched into Ukraine, which was disoriented due to good defences and ended up in Lithuania.
ELTA reminds that on July 28, the police reported that an unidentified unmanned aircraft had flown into Lithuania from Belarus. The drone was found on August 1 at a military training ground in the Jonava district.
Defence Minister Dovilė Šakalienė initially said that the possibility that the object detected in Lithuania was a drone that had accidentally strayed into Ukrainian airspace could not be ruled out. According to the minister, there may be more such cases in the future.
Following the incident, a public debate and discussion ensued among political leaders regarding the improvement of Lithuania's air defence infrastructure.
A similar incident was recorded on July 10, when an unmanned aircraft named Gerbera flew into Lithuanian airspace from Belarus. According to the authorities, the drone did not pose a threat. The Lithuanian Armed Forces are investigating the airspace violation.