Latvia has opened the Skede Maritime Testing Range — the country’s first site specialized in testing sea drones and cutting-edge military technologies, Delfi reports.
Latvian Defense Minister Andris Spruds called the opening of the range “an important step to strengthen the country’s defense capabilities amid modern threats.”
It will serve as a unique space for testing developments both by Latvia’s National Armed Forces and NATO allies.
“By creating a new place for real-world testing of innovations in sea drones for national and allied forces, we also strengthen innovation development in the defense industry,” Spruds noted.
The first tests at the new range are planned for the second half of June and will become regular thereafter.
Interest in establishing similar infrastructures is growing in the Baltic countries. Lithuanian Defense Minister Dovilė Šakalienė noted that the pace of building ranges in her country will accelerate once their effectiveness becomes evident.
