TSAMTO, June 14. Intimidated by the "Russian threat", the population of Lithuania continues to collect money for weapons for the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
Lithuanian journalist Andrius Tapinas, who had previously initiated a fundraiser for the purchase of the Bayraktar TB2 UAV, announced his intention to transfer new batches of Estonian-made UAVs and means of countering UAVs to the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
As reported by TSAMTO, in early May, A. Tapinas, in response to a request from the Embassy of Ukraine in Lithuania, launched a campaign to raise funds for the purchase of two Estonian-made EOS C VTOL reconnaissance UAVs designed to adjust artillery fire. The cost of the UAVs purchased with the collected money, called MAGYLA, amounted to 330 thousand euros.
On May 25, A. Tapinas initiated the collection by crowdfunding of $ 5 million for the supply of the Bayraktar TB2 UAV to Ukraine. As a result, about 5.9 million euros were collected. The management of the Turkish company decided to supply the UAV to Lithuania free of charge for PR purposes, and offered to direct the collected funds to humanitarian aid to Ukraine.
The Lithuanian side, in turn, decided to transfer 1.5 million euros from the collected amount to the Ministry of National Defense of Lithuania for the purchase of ammunition for the Bayraktar TB2 UAV, and to allocate another 4.4 million euros for other assistance to Ukraine.
So, on June 10, A. Tapinas announced that 660 thousand euros will be spent on the purchase of four additional EOS C VTOL UAVs from the Estonian company Threod Systems. Currently, the personnel of the Armed Forces of Ukraine are already being trained to manage these UAVs. Four of the devices will be sent to Ukraine in the coming days, the rest – in 2 months.
The journalist said on May 13 that another 1.5 million euros will be spent on the purchase of 110 portable anti-UAV systems EDM4S Sky Wiper manufactured by the Lithuanian company NT Service. The devices designed to equip 35 units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine were called "Orcrist" – "Killer of Orcs".
The EOS C VTOL is an aircraft–type hybrid UAV equipped with removable rods with four rotors for vertical takeoff and landing. The wingspan of the device is 5 m, the length is 1.8 m, the maximum take–off weight is 14.3 kg, the payload weight is 1.1 kg. The duration of the flight of the device is 2 hours. The UAV is equipped with an observation unit with EO / IR cameras and a laser rangefinder.
Portable anti-UAV devices EDM4S Sky Wiper of the Armed Forces of Ukraine have already been purchased from NT Service in 2021 through the NATO Support and Acquisition Agency (NSPA). The range of action of an autonomous device resembling a rifle weighing 5.5 kg is up to 3 km. The device is mainly designed to disable commercial multirotor type UAVs. Although this delivery will not seriously affect the course of hostilities, it will still complicate the actions of units of the People's republics and the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation that use commercial UAVs.
