Lithuania designs key Baltic power link to withstand Shahed drone attacks
Lithuania is fortifying a key future power substation near Russia with anti-drone defenses, blast-resistant transformer shelters and protection against sabotage as the Baltic region adapts its critical infrastructure to what officials call a “new reality.”
The Gizai substation, planned about 30 kilometers (19 miles) west of Russia's Kaliningrad region, will be a crucial node in the Harmony Link connection between Lithuania and Poland, Reuters reported. The project will help complete the Baltic states' integration with the European Union's power grid after they disconnected from the Russian system last year.
The facility is being designed to withstand threats ranging from sabotage to attacks by multiple Shahed drones.
Plans include fencing capable of resisting a truck loaded with explosives, sensors to detect possible tunnels and reinforced-concrete “sarcophagi” around transformers to protect them from drone strikes.
“We are designing Gizai for a new reality,” Litgrid CEO Andrius Semeskevicius told Reuters. “We are protecting ourselves from multiple Shahed drones, which could crash-land with 100 kilograms of explosives.”
The 35-hectare site will also spread equipment apart so that a single drone strike can damage only a limited portion of the facility. Key equipment will be duplicated to allow the substation to continue operating if one unit is damaged or destroyed.
The additional security measures have increased the project's estimated cost by at least €48 million ($57 million), according to Litgrid. Lithuania plans to ask the European Union to cover at least half of the cost.
Security concerns around the region have intensified amid fears of attacks on critical infrastructure. Intelligence sources told Reuters in August that regional governments were concerned Russia could stage a false-flag drone attack to test NATO unity.
The Gizai substation will form part of infrastructure intended to maintain stable electricity supplies to the Baltic states in the event of a wider conflict. Its route runs through the Suwałki Gap, a narrow area between Russia's Kaliningrad region and Belarus that has long been a security concern for NATO.