Today, Minister of National Defence Laurynas Kasčiūnas and Chief of Defence of Lithuania General Raimundas Vaikšnoras presented to the State Defence Council progress made in developing the national division and proposals on heavy weaponry acquisitions for the division. The State Defence Council has taken the final decision to acquire German-made Leopard 2 tanks.
This follows the decisions made at earlier State Defence Council meetings to procure German-made tanks and commitment to Minister of National Defence to initiate procurement procedures and present the received price proposal.
“We were notified by the German side on the preliminary price of the project and we have taken the final decision to buy the German Leopard 2 tanks. We plan to sign a contract on formation of battalion tanks in the nearest future,” said Minister of National Defence L. Kasčiūnas. Lithuania plans to break to acquisition into stages thus in the meanwhile staying able to also purchase air defence systems sooner.
Aside from the tank acquisition, tracked infantry fighting vehicles for tank support are another important point in making the division heavier. Chief of Defence General R. Vaikšnoras presented military advice to the State Defence Council on tracked infantry vehicle acquisition options which was backed by Minister of National Defence’s political, economical (industrial) and financial assessment of the options. Everything taken into account, the State Defence Council picked Swedish-made CV-90.
The tracked infantry combat vehicles are planned to be purchased to equip two Lithuanian Armed Forces battalion. The State Defence Council committed Minister of National Defence to initiate CV-90 acquisition procedures and to deliver on the requirement to support cooperation with the Lithuanian defence industry. Minister of National Defence is obligated to present tenders of the suppliers to the State Defence Council which takes the final decision. The tank and combat vehicle acquisition is planned to be covered by the Defence Fund.
Photo credit: Sgt Spc K. Kavolėlis/ MoD
