The small hall smells of glue. It has been used to assemble Drones. There are several unfinished drones on the tables that still need gluing.
This is one of the production sites belonging to the Latvian arms and munitions company LV-Teh. The company’s director responsible for technology Ugis Svirido calls the hall a laboratory.
If not an actual laboratory, then at least this place in an office building on the outskirts of Riga is a workshop with a lot of modern technology. The location of the place is secret for security reasons.
The finished drones and the test cage are the only items we are allowed to photograph. A man dressed in an army green outfit checks the angles. He does not introduce himself, but later it turns out that the man is a co-owner of the company and an expert in military technology.
Watch a video of the drone lab:
In addition to Svirido and the apron, there is only a younger employee present, who is testing the drone in a test cage for filming. The tests are to ensure that the drones’ engines and batteries are flawless.
Donors pay for the drones sent to Ukraine
Donors pay for the drones delivered by LV-Teh to the Ukrainian army. Donors include individuals, companies and organizations.
– Unfortunately, Ukraine cannot buy drones. We have to find sponsors, says Svirido.
He states that basic drones for war cannot be very expensive because they are shot down a lot. LV-Teh’s drones cost about a thousand euros, depending on the equipment. The company does not disclose production quantities.
Minister promises millions for drone army
Latvia is now seriously investing in drones. We have our own drone army in the works and the government is paying significant incentives to the country’s drone industry. On the civilian side, a few companies offer pilot training for various professional groups, from office holders to farmers.
Latvia also leads Ukraine’s drone coalition. The coalition includes countries that donate money for the purchase of drones for Ukraine. Finland is not involved in this coalition.
The goal of the coalition is to deliver one million drones to Ukraine per year.
Latvia has two large drone factories and several smaller companies in the field. For security reasons, the number of drone manufacturers is not public, but it is common knowledge that there are more than ten of them.
– The industry that produces military drones in Latvia is developing by leaps and bounds. More and more representatives of the Latvian army also understand the effectiveness of drones, says Svirido.
According to Svirido, the technology of drones is developing all the time, although their appearance remains more or less unchanged.
Watch a video of the drone training of the Latvian army:
Latvia will spend 20 million euros on Ukrainian drones this year. Just as many millions of countries put into establishing their own drone army.
The army is to purchase drones from domestic manufacturers for ten million euros.
This video shows drone footage of the Latvian army from various targets:
In June, Latvia opened a large drone training and testing area in the southern part of the country in Sēlija, where the largest military base in the Baltics will later be completed.
Minister of Defense of Latvia Andris Spruds has been talking a lot about drones this year.
– We have to train our soldiers to be drone pilots. The first ones have already been completed. We also need to develop test and training places. We need to develop the entire drone ecosystem. A very important part of this is the local drone industry, Sprūds tells at the premises of the Ministry of Defense in Riga.
Drones have significantly changed warfare in Ukraine. Ukraine, which is fighting against the Russian invasion, has used drones to make up for its lack of weapons and manpower.
In Europe, at least Poland and Germany have a lot of drones in military use.
Most drones are manufactured in China, but Western countries would like to reduce their dependence on Chinese drones.
According to Sprūds, drones are important for the defense of a small country like Latvia, located on the Russian border.
– In the coming years, we will spend a considerable amount of money on developing drone capacity.
– Drones must be cleverly integrated into defense planning. Different types of drones are needed: small FPV drones, reconnaissance drones and combat drones.
In addition to drone technology, according to Minister of Defense Sprūds, the Latvian army plans to use electronic warfare methods and artificial intelligence even more effectively. The army also uses more resources for personnel training.
– Using drones requires a human brain. It requires skilled people. Quality comes not only from technology, but also from practice.
The drone wall is still raw, but something can develop from it
Security policy expert and researcher Veiko Spolītis says that Latvia inevitably needs the help of larger countries in the development of drone technology.
The six NATO countries bordering Russia, i.e. Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Finland and Norway, announced in May that they would establish a so-called drone wall on the Russian border. The purpose is to unify drone surveillance and increase cooperation. It is only an initiative, and it is not yet known when the drone wall will exist.
Spolītis estimates that the plan could move technical cooperation forward.
– For example, Latvia could manufacture reconnaissance drones, and Nokia could produce software and electronics for more advanced drones in Finland. The most important thing is that the countries cooperate and share responsibility. Otherwise, the project will not succeed.
Researcher Spolītis considers the drone wall still completely crude, although a good plan. According to Spolitis, a leading country should be named for the project without feelings of jealousy. It should also be decided which country produces which kind of drones and technology.
Spolitis estimates that the project may well come true, as it would bring more power to border control.
– Drones should be invested in. We have seen what they have achieved on the battlefield in Ukraine.
The sheet depicting Vladimir Putin is on the wall of the museum opposite the Russian embassy in Riga:
Spolītis emphasizes that the drone wall of Latvia, Finland and other countries bordering Russia is a matter of intelligence. It could mean, for example, anticipating Russian hybrid operations and monitoring Russian drones.
– The most important thing in the cooperation of the six countries is the creation of a common intelligence system. It is possible to monitor the border with drones. They can provide an opportunity to prepare, for example, for the arrival of an avalanche of migrants from the Russian side.
LV-Teh constantly receives feedback from the front
Let’s go back to LV-Teh’s drone laboratory, where military drones are assembled for Ukraine.
Ugis Svirido, the director responsible for technology, says that he receives daily feedback from his Ukrainian partners about which features of drones work on the battlefield and where there is room for improvement.
Larger drones are suitable, for example, for destroying tanks and trucks, Svirido explains. However, his company LV-Teh makes small drones, and they carry out real precision strikes. In them, the optimal projectile weight is from a kilogram to one and a half kilograms.
Soldiers often track targets first with larger reconnaissance drones, and then they share the information with pilots of smaller drones, Svirido says.
– Then the drone is flown to the target, and the target is destroyed. Small drones are suitable for killing enemy soldiers because they are easy to move.