Lithuania's state-owned Giraitė Armament Plant has begun producing anti-drone cartridges, with test batches already dispatched to Sweden and France and interest from several other countries.
The plant, a small-calibre ammunition manufacturer based in Kaunas district, developed the ammunition concept last year drawing on experience from Ukraine. Prototypes were tested in laboratories and at a firing range before the Lithuanian Armed Forces trialled the cartridges for the first time last week.
Mass production can begin immediately as the plant awaits orders, according to its director, Mindaugas Kurauskas.
The cartridges are designed to give individual soldiers protection against drones and are compatible with standard 5.56 mm and 7.62 mm NATO weapons, with an effective range of 50 to 100 metres. Each round costs approximately two euros, with magazines holding around 30 cartridges.
The plant plans to produce roughly five million cartridges per year, about a tenth of its total output, generating around ten million euros in revenue.
