French wheeled self-propelled howitzers Caesar could be delivered to Lithuania in 2027, Defence Minister Arvydas Anusauskas has said.
“The acquisition itself will take place in 2027. Or perhaps earlier. It is still too early to talk about very specific terms,” the minister said.
On June 13, Anusauskas signed a letter of intent on purchasing 18 wheeled self-propelled howitzers with newly appointed French Defence Minister Sebastien Lecorn.
Under the agreement, Lithuania will also join the development program of the Caesar Mark II new generation artillery system being implemented by the Procurement Agency of the French Ministry of Defence.
Lithuania’s Defence Ministry plans to earmark approximately 110-150 million euros for the entire project on the purchase of artillery systems.
“We would like to get a new modification, which would be finalised in France in 2024. It would have ballistic protection, many other things that are important for a self-propelled artillery system,” the Lithuanian minister said.
The purchase of howitzers was one of the acquisitions that Vilnius decided to speed up in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, he stressed.
“What was to happen in 2030 and later, will now happen in 2027,” Anusauskas said.
He added that he also discussed “the outlook for further development of our military cooperation” with his French counterpart.
“There are areas where European countries could increase effort,” he said. (LRT/Business World Magazine)