Public Lecture: The Baltic Defence Industry — Shielding the Region, Boosting the Economy?

This public lecture examines the growing importance of the Baltic defence industry at a time of heightened regional security concerns. It considers how Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia can strengthen their defence capabilities while also supporting economic development through innovative domestic industries and deeper regional cooperation.

Drawing on the LaSER Think Tank’s recent publication, The Baltic Defence Industry: United We Scale, Divided We Fail?, the lecture addresses questions, like: What distinctive advantages and industrial capabilities do the three Baltic states possess? How can spiking defence budgets generate long-term benefits rather than short-term effects? And what role can domestic defence industries play in strengthening small-state defence capabilities and deterrence postures? 

The lecture will introduce key concepts in deterrence theory, examine the challenges that small states face in establishing credible deterrence, and conclude with a discussion of the future of the Baltic defence industry.

Roberts Kits is a researcher at the Latvian Strategy and Economic Research Institute (LaSER Think Tank), specializing in Baltic security and the defence industry. He is a PhD student in the Faculty of Economics and Social Sciences at the University of Latvia, where his research focuses on defence innovation in small European states. He holds an MA in Diplomacy and a BA in Political Science from the University of Latvia. He has also studied at the Institute of Political Studies of Lyon (Sciences Po Lyon) and completed professional training at the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California, and the Baltic Defence College in Tartu, Estonia. In 2026, he was a visiting researcher at The Europe Center at Stanford University.