Lithuania plans to purchase combat drones, National Defence Minister Arvydas Anušauskas said.

"I think it is time - and it is planned - to take a new step. There are plans to procure combat drones. These are next-generation technologies that are designed to destroy the enemy," the minister said on Facebook.

"Drones on the battlefield are extremely important, as evidenced by all the wars of the last decade," Anušauskas said.

Earlier, Prime Minister Ingrida Šimonytė said that all parliamentary forces agreed on the need to increase national defence funding later this year. According to the prime minister, the current year's budget will have to be adjusted as a matter of urgency, allocating an additional 250 million euros for defence.