"The opening of the drone test site is a step forward not only in the development of the Sēlija range, but also in strengthening the capabilities of drones – the drone test site becomes a place where representatives of our drone industry will be able to regularly test their equipment," said Sprūds.
"The drone test site is also a new facet in the development of the drone coalition. Allies and members of the drone coalition [for Ukraine] will regularly gather here for tests of unmanned aerial vehicles and electronic warfare," said A. Spruds.
Along with the opening of the training and testing range, military exercises took place for the first time at the new Sēlija range, as part of the international military exercises "Baltic Zenith 2024".
By testing drones, local industry will be developed, the technical capabilities and tactical application of drones will be benchmarked, and technologies improved, according to the Ministry of Defense.
It has already been reported that in order to develop and strengthen the drone capacity of the Latvian National Armed Forces at all levels, 20 million euros will be invested in the development of capabilities over the next few years.
At the moment the Ministry of Defense is also inviting companies to submit applications for a grant competition for the development of innovations in the field of unmanned aerial vehicles by June 21, with total funding of 600,000 euros available.
On May 14 of this year, three months passed since Latvia and the United Kingdom founded a drone coalition to support Ukraine. A total of 14 countries have announced their participation in the drone coalition to this point: Latvia, Ukraine, the United Kingdom, Australia, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Italy, Canada, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Poland, Germany and Sweden. So far, the members of the drone coalition have raised more than 500 million euros for the donation of drones to Ukraine.
At the same time, on behalf of the drone coalition, the United Kingdom and Latvia have announced a tender for the supply of first-person view (FPV) drones to Ukraine. Information on how to apply can be found on the UK Defense Portal. An entrepreneur from any member state of the Defense Contact Group of Ukraine can participate in the competition.
