On July 11 the Seimas agreed to the amendment to the law on the principles of structure of the Armed Forces tabled by the Ministry of National Defence. The amendment proposes to complement the structure of the Lithuanian Armed Forces with a new unit, an infantry division, and a heavy enabler, a tank battalion.
The amendment to the law on the principles of the Lithuanian Armed Forces structure and marginal personnel numbers stipulates development of an infantry division by means of establishing new military units in the Lithuanian Armed Forces or strengthening the already present ones.
“The persistent and steady threat of Russia necessitates urgent efforts to strengthen defence, that’s why the structural changes in the Lithuanian Armed Forces arising from the establishment of an infantry division and other units, as well as adaptions of the Initial Mandatory Military Service are especially needed,” notes Minister of National Defence Laurynas Kasčiūnas.
Development of the infantry division will encompass formation of a new military unit, an artillery regiment, and rearrangement of some of the existing units: Col Juozas Vitkus Engineer Battalion will become Col Juozas Vitkus Engineer Regiment and the Air Force Air Defence Battalion will be transformed into Air Force Air Defence Regiment. Also, King Mindaugas Hussar Battalion is planned to be rearranged into King Mindaugas Hussar Tank Battalion starting 2027. Orders have already been placed for the weaponry systems necessary to implement the changes.
The amendment also proposes establishment of another new unit, Cyber Defence Command, as of 2025. It will be formed from the existing Lithuanian Armed Forces units integrating the Lithuanian Great Hetman Kristupas Radvila Perkūnas Signal and IS Battalion and the IS Service.
The principal structure of the Lithuanian Armed Forces will be also complemented with other military divisions that classify as a military unit: the Coast and Littoral Waters Defence Service will be added to the Navy, the EOD Diver Service and the Training and Combat Support Centre will be added to the Special Operations Forces, the Weaponry and Equipment Repair Depot will be attached to the Air Force, and the Depot Service will be added to the Logistics Command.
Another direction in the infantry division development is acquisition of new weaponry systems to increase the warfighting power and maneuver defence of the Lithuanian Armed Forces. Since an infantry division must have a heavy enabler capability, the Lithuanian Armed Forces chose the Leopard 2 tank platform.
The Ministry of National Defence alongside other institutions carried out a thorough evaluation of political, economic (industrial) and financial aspects of the selection and found the German Leopard 2 platform the most efficient choice, which coincided with the military view on the matter.
The medium range air defence capability will be developed side by side with the tank battalion.
The Seimas also agreed to the increase of the number of Mandatory Military Service conscripts. The amendment of the law on the on the principles of structure of the Armed Forces and marginal personnel numbers proposes to increase the overall marginal personnel number from 20 840 to 29 380, while the number of the Initial Mandatory Military Service recruits will rise from 4 240 to 7 040.
