Lithuania, 3 other countries to jointly purchase Piorun air defense systems

VILNIUS – Lithuania and three other countries will jointly purchase Polish-made Piorun short-range air defense systems, the Defense Ministry said on Thursday.

The systems are being procured under the European defense industry reinforcement through common procurement act, or EDIRPA, it said in a press release. 

Lithuania, Poland and two other unnamed countries participating in the joint procurement have applied for partial EU funding.

"Strengthening air defense is one of the most important tasks we have set for ourselves. "Therefore, we are glad about the upcoming purchase, as well as about our cooperation with our close ally and neighbor Poland," Defense Minister Laurynas Kasciunas was quoted as saying in the press release. 

He posted on Facebook that "the Piorun system is designed to destroy fixed-wing aircraft, helicopters and drones, which can be shot down at a range of 8 km".

Lithuania currently has an older version of the Polish-made Grom air defense system and uses short-range air defense weapons from other countries' manufacturers.