Over the past few years, Lithuania’s defence industry has travelled a road nobody planned in advance. Not long ago we were talking about first steps, ambitions and potential. Today we are talking about real deals with the US Department of Defense, about systems proven in active combat, and about revenues that double in a year and are planned to grow several times over. This is no accident, and it is not only the engineers’ achievement – although their work is the foundation. It is also a question of well-planned and well-managed IT, cloud and security infrastructure.
Three of the five largest drone manufacturers in Lithuania are Skaylink clients. This figure is not a marketing claim – it simply describes what the last few years have looked like from our side.
One of our clients is a manufacturer of FPV strike drones, founded in 2022, which from the very beginning has worked closely with Ukrainian military engineers and drone operators. Today the client’s systems are used by the armed forces of twelve NATO countries, around 80 per cent of the drones produced go to active combat zones, and last year the company’s revenue doubled to more than EUR 15.5 million. This year, growth of another three to four times is planned.
And this is only the beginning. The client recently signed a partnership agreement with a US defence and intelligence technology company: its drone systems will be integrated into projects and supplied to the US Department of Defense. Development cycles here are measured in weeks, not years – this is not a metaphor, it is an operational reality that dictates the whole logic of the infrastructure.
Another partner produces what only five years ago seemed like the distant future: autonomous strike drones, reconnaissance platforms and software that can control an entire drone swarm at once. Its technologies are not prototypes – they are battle-proven, trusted by the Lithuanian Armed Forces and the Military Police, and praised by the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
The third makes FPV drones with a range of up to 15 kilometres and ground control stations that are resistant to water, impact and electronic interference. The client’s systems are also actively used by Ukrainian forces. When a control system has to work under electronic warfare conditions, mistakes are not an option – and that applies not only to the hardware.
Incidentally, the defence industry is not the only sector where we see this kind of growth. When we started working with the first Lithuanian space industry companies a few years ago, we could not have imagined how far they would go – today their satellites are already in orbit, they are growing tenfold and more, and this is a challenge not only for the business but also for its managed services provider.
Why are managed IT, cloud and security services a core function?
Defence technology companies are not typical startups. They usually operate in an environment where mistakes cost more than money and reputation. That is why IT, cloud and security infrastructure here must meet requirements that most business sectors never encounter.
The services Skaylink provides to defence industry clients cover four main areas. Managed workplaces and IT infrastructure: continuous maintenance and management of computer workstations, virtual servers, network equipment, firewalls and peripherals – not a reactive helpdesk, but a proactive IT team working around the clock that knows the client’s infrastructure better than any in-house IT specialist. Cloud infrastructure: IaaS virtual machine environments, cloud hosting for specialised engineering systems (e.g. SolidWorks PDM), Microsoft 365 tenant management and Acronis backups – meaning a company can run a complex engineering environment without its own server room or IT administrator positions. Cybersecurity: BTT Armour Premium workstation protection that runs in the background and does not depend on employee behaviour, plus 24/7 SOC monitoring with clear SLA priorities – a defence company cannot afford downtime, and a cyber-attack in this sector is not a theoretical risk. A dedicated IT manager (BTT Intelligence Services): not a helpline, but a strategic partner who understands the client’s business context, plans infrastructure growth and represents IT interests at management level.
First – speed. When iteration cycles are measured in weeks, CI/CD pipelines must run without disruption. Every deployment, every update and every test cycle must run smoothly and reproducibly. Unstable infrastructure directly slows down product development – which means lost deals or delayed systems that armed forces are waiting for.
Second – security. Defence companies are targets. Not hypothetically but for real – malicious groups and enemy intelligence teams actively look for vulnerabilities in defence industry supply chains. Continuous monitoring through a SOC, external attack surface management with EASM tools, workstation protection – none of this is extra protection, it is basic hygiene. Knowing what the enemy sees about your infrastructure is just as important as knowing what your engineers see.
Third – backups. A lost product design, code or archive of test results can be critical. Geographically separated backups are not a bureaucratic requirement; they are operational insurance. When a company doubles its team in a year and triples its production volumes, data loss is not a theoretical risk.
Fourth – scaling. A defence technology company can double its team in a quarter, open a new factory or start working with a new army. Cloud infrastructure must grow with it – without extra deployment projects, without downtime, without obstacles. This means the architecture must be planned in advance, not hastily expanded when it is already too late.
Fifth – compliance. To work with NATO armed forces and international defence partners, companies must comply with TIS2 (Lithuania’s implementation of the EU NIS2 Directive) and other directives. This is not a formality – it is a precondition for winning contracts. A company that cannot prove its cybersecurity maturity simply will not make it into the selection process. See our NIS2 compliance services.
We work with the largest – this is a matter not only of business, but of national security
Skaylink works with three of the five largest drone manufacturers in Lithuania. We provide a wide range of managed services to clients’ IT teams, from IT and cloud management to designing and implementing cybersecurity solutions. We ensure compliance with directives so that they can work with partners who set high requirements. And we are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, all year round, because urgent response may be needed at any time.
Skaylink clients are visible worldwide, work with solid partners, attract investment and grow exponentially. We are here to make sure technology infrastructure does not get in the way of the planned breakthrough and helps them reach their ambitions much faster. What is more, these companies make a significant contribution to Lithuania’s national security.
If you are building technologies for which a reliable provider of managed IT, cloud, DevOps and security solutions is critical – let’s talk. Write to sales@skaylink.lt.
Skaylink is a Vodafone Group company delivering top-quality technology services to businesses and the public sector worldwide. Our story is similar to our clients’. It all started in Kaišiadorys (a small town in central Lithuania).
