Edvinas Kerza, founder and managing partner of ScaleWolf, a Vilnius-based venture capital fund focused on dual-use defense technologies, highlighted recent hybrid threats to Lithuania's security, including Belarusian balloon intrusions disrupting air traffic in late 2025. Kerza noted Lithuania's current lack of an effective comprehensive system to counter physical, cyber, and informational attacks, emphasizing the need for advanced air defense including monitoring, detection, and automatic countermeasures, potentially AI-driven. Looking ahead, he warned of the emergence of underground automatic drones capable of digging tunnels and circumventing traditional border defenses along Lithuania's nearly 700-kilometer border with Belarus. He called for smart border protection systems equipped with sensors detecting underground vibrations and automated response mechanisms. Kerza also discussed ScaleWolf-backed startups Pulsetto and PowerUP, which respectively aid soldier mental resilience and provide hydrogen-based power solutions to reduce battlefield detectability. He stressed private capital’s role in defense innovation, citing ScaleWolf's acceleration of over 60 defense-sector startups, many engaged with NATO and the Ukraine conflict. Kerza concluded with hopes for peace in Ukraine and the importance of unity in defense technology development.

Edvinas Kerza, founder and managing partner of ScaleWolf, a Vilnius-based venture capital fund focused on dual-use defense technologies, highlighted recent hybrid threats to Lithuania's security, including Belarusian balloon intrusions disrupting air traffic in late 2025. Kerza noted Lithuania's current lack of an effective comprehensive system to counter physical, cyber, and informational attacks, emphasizing the need for advanced air defense including monitoring, detection, and automatic countermeasures, potentially AI-driven. Looking ahead, he warned of the emergence of underground automatic drones capable of digging tunnels and circumventing traditional border defenses along Lithuania's nearly 700-kilometer border with Belarus. He called for smart border protection systems equipped with sensors detecting underground vibrations and automated response mechanisms. Kerza also discussed ScaleWolf-backed startups Pulsetto and PowerUP, which respectively aid soldier mental resilience and provide hydrogen-based power solutions to reduce battlefield detectability. He stressed private capital’s role in defense innovation, citing ScaleWolf's acceleration of over 60 defense-sector startups, many engaged with NATO and the Ukraine conflict. Kerza concluded with hopes for peace in Ukraine and the importance of unity in defense technology development.