Lithuania has declared that it will transfer six AMBER-1800 radar systems with a range of about 350 kilometers to Ukraine.
The Baltic country will do so as part of a German initiative called “Immediate Action for Air Defense”. This initiative is aimed at strengthening Ukraine’s air defense.
This was announced by German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius after a meeting with his Lithuanian counterpart Laurinas Kasciunas in Berlin.
The ground-based mobile radar system provides automatic deployment on prepared sites and is designed for detection of air targets, determination of their coordinates and distribution of radar information to consumers
Pistorius said the initiative-related transfer of six AMBER-1800 radar systems is Lithuania’s contribution to saving lives in Ukraine.
“Thank you also for your participation in our air defense initiative,” the minister said, addressing Kasciunas.
Last month Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis noted the need to provide Ukraine with funds to strengthen its air defense.
“The West’s fear of escalating the situation by providing Ukraine with air defense equipment will allow Russia to take advantage of such fluctuations in its favor,” the Lithuanian minister said.
Immediate Action on Air Defense
Germany launched the ”Immediate Action on Air Defense” initiative as it seeks to provide Ukraine with more air defense systems.
The German defense ministry said that Denmark and the Netherlands are in discussions over financial support for IAAD. “Several other partners have also agreed to intensively examine whether they can also supply systems or provide resources,” the ministry added.
While the German government has come under fire for refusing to donate Taurus cruise missiles to Kyiv, it has instead sought to increase provisions of air defense systems.
In March, Berlin confirmed a €1.3 billion order for four new Patriot surface-to-air missile systems, partly to replace the two sent to Kyiv already. Earlier this month, Germany then pledged a third Patriot system, while on Saturday Bloomberg reported that Berlin is mulling a further order with manufacturer Raytheon.
By also requesting financial pledges under the IAAD initiative, Berlin is mimicking a program launched by the Czech Republic to jointly finance the purchase of artillery ammunition on the world market for onward delivery to Ukraine.
That ammunition program has raised hundreds of millions of euros so far, with Germany, Denmark and the Netherlands amongst the major contributors.
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