Ministry to spend around 142 million euro on tactical vehicles

Vice Minister of National Defence Giedrimas Jeglinskas informed of this following a meeting in Washington with US Under Secretary of Defence for Acquisition and Sustainment Ellen Lord on February 22.

The vice minister explained that it is planned for negotiations on the conditions of the JLTV purchase to be concluded with the USA by 2020. The ministry plans to earmark around 142 million euro for the purchase and maintenance of the vehicles.

The Ministry of National Defence Resource Council ruled in 2017 that the US-produced JLTV vehicles will best match the ratio of functionality and cost, launching negotiations with the US government on purchasing JLTVs. They will supplement and renew the Lithuanian military’s pool of similar vehicles and will be distributed to various units.

Currently the Lithuanian military makes use of HMMWWs and Toyota Land Cruiser 200 armoured SUVs, however the military found a need for further vehicles of this type for both national defence objectives and international operations as well as the natural wear of current vehicles.

During the meeting, G. Jeglinskas also discussed the growing number of purchases by the Lithuanian military from the USA with Under Secretary Ellen Lord, as well as the two countries’ continued cooperation in this regard.

Vice Minister G. Jeglinskas also visited the Pennsylvania National Guard headquarters, where he discussed cooperation between the Lithuanian military and this branch of the national guard, which has successfully continued for more than two decades. The vice minister also visited the US Naval Academy in Annapolis, where he met with the academy’s leadership and troops. In Washington, the vice minister also met with analysts from the Atlantic Council and RAND, the leadership of the US navy as well as officials from Congress.

Beyond plans to purchase JLTVs, Lithuania is purchasing surface to air missiles, Javelin anti-tank systems and other equipment from the USA.