Lithuania will seek that NATO member countries agree at July’s summit in Vilnius to spend at least 2% of their GDP on defence, according to a presidential adviser. “One of Lithuania’s objectives is that the NATO summit agree on and confirm the so-called Vilnius commitment on defence investment of at least 2%,” Kestutis Budrys, the…
Lithuanian Defence Minister Arvydas Anusauskas visited France on December 29 for talks with his French counterpart, Sebastien Lecornu, on the acquisition of Caesar Mark II wheeled self-propelled howitzers. Anusauskas and Lecornu are also expected to discuss “bilateral cooperation, assistance to Ukraine, and other key security and defence issues”, the Lithuanian Defence Ministry said in a…
Lithuania mulls forming an army division, Defense Minister Arvydas Anusauskas has said. “We have the ambition to form a Lithuanian division in the future while receiving division-level capabilities, such as HIMARS,” he said. An army division is usually made up of several brigades and includes 10,000 to 15,000 soldiers. Some 11,500 professional soldiers, almost 3,500…
Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili on December 27 said all military bases across the country had been renovated “according to international standards” throughout the past year, in his comments summarising the Government’s work in 2022. The PM also highlighted the ongoing GEL 70-million ($25.93 million) project on the NATO-standard Mukhrovani base in eastern Georgia’s Kakheti…
A 1,000-HP, 18.3-liter engine driving a 55-ton German self-propelled howitzer PzH 2000 is buzzing in a hangar in Lithuania’s Rukla. As the sound fills the hangar, many in the building, including 18 men in blue uniforms, stare back. The latter are Ukrainian army mechanics who trained in Lithuania in December to repair such howitzers. “This…
Lithuania’s Defence Resources Agency under the ministry signed a contract this week for the acquisition of the Switchblade 600 combat drones from the US government, the Defence Ministry reported on December 23. “The Switchblade 600 is a next-generation long-range combat drone, featuring high-precision optics, the ability to stay airborne for up to 40 minutes, and…
A contract on purchasing High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS) signifies a new page in cooperation between Lithuania and the United States, Lithuania’s Chief of Defence Valdemaras Rupsys said after a meeting with General Charles Quinton Brown, Jr., chief of staff of the US Air Force, in Vilnius on December 20. “Last week, we got…