DELFI / Mindaugas Ažušilis
“We would like see an increase of at least 450 troops every year,” he told journalists.
The Lithuanian army currently has around 8,000 professional servicemen, around 4,500 volunteer troops and around 2,300 civilians working for the army.
The growing number of troops will allow to achieve a 70-90 percent rate of unit formation by 2020, Olekas said.
Lithuania also plans to give a boost to its rapid response force, established last year, and also plans intensive training with internal security services, the minister said, adding that the country is also holding talks with allies on its participation in the Very High Readiness Joint Task Force being established by NATO.
Lithuania’s defence budget for 2015 stands at EUR 425 million, or 1.1 percent of GDP, one third above what it was in 2014. The country’s political parties have agreed to seek a gradual increase of defence spending for it to reach 2 percent of GDP by 2020.
While Prime Minister Gintautas Paluckas does not take issue with the statements made by the…
Lithuanian economists are surprised to see our country's economic growth: the Estonian economy has been…
"The fate of Nemuno Aušra (Dawn of Nemunas) in the coalition has been decided; they…
Airvolve, a Lithuanian dual-purpose aeronautics company, has successfully completed its first round of testing and…
The world is becoming smaller, more intertwined, and increasingly fragmented, with many of the previous…
In recent years, Vilnius, the vibrant capital of Lithuania, has experienced a culinary renaissance. While…
