On Tuesday, the government approved the redistribution of 200 million euros in the budget for strengthening the air defense system.
The funds will be redistributed from the budget program "Funding for Measures to Strengthen State Security" to the subprogram of the Ministry of Defense "Maintenance of National Armed Forces." Currently, under the program "Maintenance of National Armed Forces," funding for the acquisition of air defense systems is not planned for 2026 and 2027. As reported, from 2023 to 2027, Latvia has committed to allocate an additional 200 million euros annually to strengthen air defense. In total, 1 billion euros will be allocated for these purposes over five years. The first decision on the redistribution of funds was made by the government in December 2023, and the second in February of last year. In November 2023, the Ministry of Defense signed a contract with the German company "Diehl Defence" for the acquisition of medium-range air defense systems "IRIS-T" for 600 million euros, which will ensure the implementation of a multi-layered air defense system in Latvia. Deliveries of the "IRIS-T" systems are expected to begin in 2026.
