From the Liveblog of
Thursday, October 26, 2017
Lithuania boosts air defense to plug gap in NATO’s eastern flank with Russia
WARSAW, Poland — Lithuania on Thursday signs a deal to buy Norwegian anti-aircraft missile systems to plug an air defense gap on NATO’s eastern flank, amid concerns over Russia.
The NASAMS medium-range air defense systems developed by Norway’s Kongsberg will be the first such shield in the Baltic states and will cost 110 million euros ($130 million).
“There is no secret that we have had gaps in air defense until now. This is a new page in this area,” Defense Minister Raimundas Karoblis tells reporters.
He says the system will be fully operational within three years.
Lithuania and fellow Baltic states Latvia and Estonia boosted their defense after Moscow’s 2014 annexation of the Crimean peninsula and the incursion of pro-Russian forces into eastern Ukraine.
— AFP
