Executive Summary
The Emergency Defense Procurement Legal Framework institutionalizes 'temporal superiority'—the recognition that a weapon system's value is intrinsically tied to arrival time. Traditional 18-24 month procurement cycles represent existential vulnerability; this reform reduces contracting to 7 days during heightened threat - or during test periods. The framework combines: (1) Emergency or test triggers (State Defence Council designation) activating direct contracting authority up to €10M; (2) Pre-Approved Vendor Registry (PAVR) with 200+ security-vetted suppliers; (3) BRAVE1/DOT-Chain model digital platform enabling 'Amazon for Weaponry' interface with automated matchmaking and single-approval workflow; (4) EU Article 346 TFEU compatibility ensuring derogation for essential security interests; (5) Data-based accountability replacing ex-ante process controls with post-delivery audits, real-time price benchmarking, and outcome tracking. Ukraine's BRAVE1 processed 1,500+ proposals and distributed $30M in Year 1; DOT-Chain achieved 10-day average delivery with 5-day records. US OTA obligations reached $16B in FY2024. Lithuania can become NATO's 'Laboratory for Agility'—demonstrating that 50,000 FPV drones in Month 1 provides more credible deterrence than one tank battalion in Year 2.
Transforms Lithuania into NATO 'Laboratory for Agility'; enables 50,000 FPV drone fielding in conflict Month 1; establishes temporal superiority as core deterrent; positions Lithuanian defense tech ecosystem for 'Drone Capability Coalition' leadership
In short: 7-day contracting during crisis or test periods; Pre-Approved Vendor Registry (200+ suppliers); €10M single-source threshold; BRAVE1-model digital marketplace; Quarterly test exercises maintaining system readiness; EU Article 346 compatibility; Post-delivery accountability framework
The Problem
For a frontline state like Lithuania, traditional procurement cycles represent critical vulnerability exploitable through adversary's rapid technological iteration. The fundamental crisis: prioritization of procedural compliance over operational relevance. In peacetime, emphasis on preventing corruption is justifiable; in emergency, these virtues become existential liabilities. Ukrainian experience: at invasion onset, standard procedures took 90 days minimum—units suffered significant casualties awaiting simple reconnaissance tools. Through BRAVE1 and DOT-Chain, same industrial base governed by different laws delivered results in 7 days. The 'mathematics of speed': tactical drone fleet delivered Week 1 is worth exponentially more than superior fleet delivered Month 6, as former prevents initial territorial losses and equipment attrition that define campaign outcomes. 'Gold-plated' systems with decade-long development cycles are incompatible with high-attrition, high-innovation conflicts.
Lithuanian procurement: 12-24 month timelines under Law on Public Procurement in Defence and Security. No emergency contracting authorities. No pre-approved vendor registry. No digital procurement platform. EU procurement rules (Directives 2014/24/EU and 2009/81/EC) applied without Article 346 TFEU derogation framework. Alcatel mandatory standstill period (10-15 days) blocks emergency awards. No post-delivery accountability mechanisms enabling process bypass.
Without action: Lithuania buys equipment for last war during next one. First-month casualties from equipment gaps preventable with legal reform. Technology iteration outpaces procurement cycle—fielded systems obsolete before delivery. Defense industrial base cannot surge without pre-qualified vendor mechanisms. Lithuania loses 'temporal superiority' as strategic capability. NATO 'Drone Capability Coalition' leadership opportunity foregone.
Lithuanian Context
Lithuania as frontline state faces unique vulnerability: capital Vilnius 35 km from hostile border, Suwalki Gap as NATO's most vulnerable corridor. Traditional procurement cycles (18-24 months) represent exploitable weakness against adversary capable of rapid technological iteration. The 'geopolitical entropy' of current era means small states can neutralize conventional superiority through mass deployment of low-cost, EW-resistant technologies. Ability to procure and field 50,000 FPV drones in conflict Month 1 provides more credible deterrence than promise of single tank battalion in Year 2. Lithuania's existing hostile-country restrictions (April 1, 2022) provide foundation for supply chain security.
Lithuania's position as 'Laboratory for Agility' within NATO leverages geographic proximity to threat for credibility. Emergency procurement enables surge production from Baltic defense industrial base. Pre-approved vendor registry includes both domestic suppliers and allied manufacturers (Polish, German, Estonian). Deep supply chain audit addresses dependency on Asian fiber-optic components critical for EW-resistant drone systems.