This means that the security situation in the region will remain tense in the medium and long term and Russia will continue to threaten the security of Latvia and its people.
“Russia’s full-scale war in Ukraine has fundamentally changed the security environment in Latvia and Europe, and undoubtedly the aggressor Russia will continue to be an undemocratic and hostile state – we have no reason to think otherwise,” Defense Minister Andris Spruds (P) stated in a press release.
The plan defines the long-term and medium-term development vision according to the current threat level and potential changes.
In order to ensure the fastest possible development of the Latvian armed forces, the plan envisages investing up to 3% of the gross domestic product (GDP) in defense by 2027. Taking into account the additional defense investments already made in order to purchase air defense systems and strengthen the eastern border, Latvia actually already invested in its defense in 2023 and will invest more than 3% of GDP this year as well. In the next 12 years, investments in the amount of less than seven billion euros will be made in the development of NBS, while one billion euros will be earmarked for infrastructure development.
In the context of the capabilities of the NBS, the development plan identifies six main development priorities, namely the strengthening of the provision of the armed forces, the purchase of anti-ship missile systems, the purchase of air defense systems, indirect fire support, including the purchase of the “Himars” platform and self-propelled artillery systems, the purchase of infantry fighting vehicles and an unmanned aerial vehicle developing systems.
In order to guarantee the protection of Latvia’s territory and population from the first centimeter and from the first second, the NBS development plan has set as a separate priority the strengthening of the Eastern border in cooperation with Lithuania and Estonia, forming the Baltic defense line.
Also, an essential element of the plan is the development of the military infrastructure, especially the creation of the “Sēlija” military training ground, providing a place for Latvian soldiers, including soldiers of the national defense service, and allied forces for combat readiness training, and ensuring the prerequisites for the host country’s support.
According to the plan, the peacetime NBS will be increased to 31,000 active duty soldiers and 30,000 reserve soldiers. In order to achieve this, it is planned to increase recruitment in the national defense service, to update the social guarantees of soldiers and national guardsmen, as well as to increase the salary of soldiers, balancing it with labor market trends.
At the same time, the NBS development plan includes for the first time a section on investments in the field of research and development, for which 32 million euros are planned to be spent over the next four years.
A detailed calculation shows that in the medium term until 2028, ambitious investments in the development of NBS are planned. In order to ensure the maximum effective increase of NBS combat capabilities and firepower, the investments in the development of NBS combat capabilities and combat support capabilities will be particularly large-scale during the next four years.
650 million euros will be invested in the development of layered air defense, which will allow to protect the territory of Latvia, its inhabitants and critical infrastructure from the enemy’s drones, helicopters, planes, missiles and other types of air threats that the defenders of Ukraine face today. 250 million euros will be allocated for the purchase of new infantry fighting vehicles, which will increase the mobility capabilities and firepower of the Ground Forces.
80 million euros are earmarked for the implementation of the newest generation of unmanned aerial vehicle systems of various uses in the NBS arsenal.
300 million euros will be invested in the development of indirect fire support capabilities – this includes the purchase of both long-range missile systems “Himars” and new wheeled self-propelled artillery systems. According to the plan, EUR 500 million will be invested in the improvement of the NBS supply system, including the creation of stockpiles of material and technical means – ammunition, food and fuel.
On the other hand, 200 million euros are earmarked for the development of supporting capabilities – in combat engineers, command management, cyber defense, medical support, defense against weapons of mass destruction and strategic communication – in the next four years.
In order to ensure the protection of Latvia’s territory from the first centimeter, a separate priority during the implementation of the NBS development plan will be the military-technical strengthening of Latvia’s eastern border, for which 303 million euros will be allocated.
The plan envisages continuing to provide support to Ukraine. The operation of the drone coalition led by Latvia, the supply of ammunition, the training of Ukrainian soldiers and the provision of material and technical means have been determined as the main elements of support. It is planned to allocate 0.25% of GDP annually to provide support, which will be around 112 million euros this year.
According to Sprud, Latvia must be ready for any scenario and in the coming years must purposefully develop its military capabilities and infrastructure, as well as increase human resources in the NBS. Latvia’s support for the Ukrainian armed forces and the development of the domestic military industry are also important.
The plan approved by the government for the next 12 years contains realistic goals, to achieve which the defense industry has already taken several important steps, the Minister of Defense emphasized.
The plan is a basic instrument that determines the balance between what is necessary for national defense and the state’s ability to realize it financially. This plan is one of the three national defense planning documents, which also includes the national defense operational plan and the catalog of capabilities, so the approval of this plan is essential for the further planning process, stated the commander of the NBS, Lieutenant General Leonids Kalniņš.
Source: www.diena.lv
