“Vytis” Initiative: €300 Million to Boost Lithuania’s Defense Industry

The Ministry of the Economy and Innovation of Lithuania, together with the Innovation Agency, has launched the “Vytis” initiative – a strategic effort to strengthen the country’s defense industrial capabilities, promote innovation, and enhance international competitiveness. The initiative is backed by €300 million in funding.

The “Vytis” platform will operate as a one-stop-shop providing integrated support for businesses — from concept development to export promotion.

Currently, nearly 100 companies operate in Lithuania’s defense and security sector — a number that has grown by 18% over the past three years. Lithuanian firms supply a wide range of products, services, and components to the defense industry, leveraging a strong research base and aligning with both national and international innovation priorities.

The “Vytis” initiative foresees targeted investment across all key stages of defense innovation development. A significant share of the funding will be allocated to defense and security technology development, expansion of innovation support and advisory services, technology testing infrastructure, skills development, business incubation, pre-acceleration and acceleration activities. Additional support will include participation in international exhibitions, business missions to strategic export markets, development of international R&D projects, and financial incentives for the creators of innovative defense products.

“Vytis” addresses long-standing barriers that have hindered the growth of Lithuania’s defense industry: insufficient early-stage financing, lack of certification and testing infrastructure, limited inter-agency coordination, gaps in innovation funding, and weak export incentives. By leveraging Lithuania’s smart specialization strengths, the initiative aligns national competencies with strategic defense and security priorities through targeted technological applications.

By 2030, the initiative aims to:

• Triple the export volume of Lithuania’s defense sector,

• Attract at least five well-known international defense companies,

• And exceed €1 billion in value added generated by the domestic defense industry.