Lithuania has decided to postpone the purchase of new transport aircraft for its armed forces until after 2030, the country's Ministry of Defense reported.
The chief advisor to the President of Lithuania on national security, Deividas Matulionis, stated that the decision to postpone the purchase was made "due to the need to focus on new priorities."
In this regard, Lithuania is withdrawing from the program for acquiring C-390 transport aircraft produced by Embraer, which is led by the Netherlands, and will focus on modernizing the currently used C-27J Spartan transport aircraft.
"We do not have new financial inflows. This means that we are saving where we can save," the Ministry of Defense explained.
Currently, the Lithuanian Defense Forces and the Air Force use three C-27J Spartan transport aircraft from the Italian manufacturer Alenia Aeromacchi.
As explained by the Minister of National Defense, Robertas Kaušas, the Spartan aircraft are planned to be modernized so that they can fly until 2036. This will cost approximately 150 million euros. The cost of new Embraer aircraft could amount to 700-800 million euros.
