Lithuania intends to purchase three military transport aircraft manufactured by the Brazilian company Embraer, the Minister of National Defence announced on Wednesday after a meeting of the State Defence Council (SDC).
"The Ministry of National Defence will join the negotiations on the acquisition of a new generation of military transport aircraft," Dovilė Šakalienė told reporters.
"The need is to have at least three military transport aircraft, negotiations would be held on that number," the minister added.
According to her, it is intended to purchase Embraer C-390 Millenium aircraft.
These aircraft will complement Lithuanian army The aviation fleet, which now mainly consists of several helicopters and three Spartan transport aircraft, has been in use in the Lithuanian Armed Forces for more than 15 years.
"Current capabilities are insufficient, and the current situation, where we have to address issues of evacuating citizens, once again clearly demonstrates why having modern, new-generation military transport aircraft is essential for the state," the minister said.
According to D. Šakalienė, the C-390 aircraft were selected because they met the operational requirements formulated by the Lithuanian Armed Forces, and the ecological and economic parameters of the aircraft, as well as delivery terms, were also taken into account.
These aircraft can also be refueled in the air, a functionality that the Spartan does not have.
"Our expressed need is that the situation requires very quick solutions. If the negotiations were successful and we could have the first aircraft within three years, (...) that would be a fantastic result," the minister said.
The minister did not disclose the possible purchase price.
"The prices of the aircraft could not be disclosed until the end of the negotiations, and we have only now made the decision to join the negotiations. Preliminary analysis (…) shows that in terms of price this would be the most favorable option that we could get," said D. Šakalienė.
Spartan aircraft are now used for transporting troops and cargo, training flights, landing operations, medical evacuation, VIP transportation, and other special missions.
"Even in an optimistic scenario, if I fly it, it will be only a few times," said President G. Nausėda, speaking about the planned acquisition of aircraft.
The head of state said he was pleased that the new aircraft will be used by the military and will be used for evacuation operations such as those currently being carried out to transport Lithuanians from Israel.
"Spartan is an aircraft that has advantages and disadvantages. It will probably no longer be possible to operate it in its current state by 2030. This development is completely natural and timely, because we are focusing on such aircraft, the demand for which has recently been growing exponentially," said G. Nausėda.
According to the Ministry of Defense, Portugal and the Netherlands have already purchased and plan to purchase additional C-390 aircraft, while Slovakia, Hungary, Austria, the Czech Republic, and Sweden are planning to purchase them.
Authors: Augustas Stankevičius, Vilmantas Venckūnas
