Fifty more Joint Light Tactical Vehicles (JLTVs) will be delivered to Lithuania, Defence Minister Arvydas Anusauskas has said.
“On the occasion of the Armed Forces Day, our soldiers are set to receive a major gift as a second batch of 50 JLTVs will be delivered to Lithuania,” Anusauskas wrote on Facebook on November 23.
“They will be added to the 50 JLTVs the army is already using. This makes us more mobile and even harder to bite for a potential enemy,” he added.
In his words, most of the new JLTVs will be equipped with the Common Remotely Operated Weapon Stations (CROWS) that will allow the troops to operate the heavy 12.7mm machine gun from inside the armoured vehicle.
“Daylight and thermal cameras and a laser rangefinder will make the powerful machine gun even more effective,” Anusauskas said.
Lithuania expects the total number of its JLTVs to reach 500 until 2025.
In 2019, Lithuania signed a contract for 200 American JLTVs. In October this year, the contract was renewed, increasing the number of JLTVs to 500.
The contract is worth around 334 million euros, with around 5% coming from US assistance funds. (LRT/Business World Magazine)
