“The Portuguese are bringing their equipment to Klaipėda today and tomorrow,” Captain Andrius Dilda, spokesman for the leadership of the Land Forces, told BNS on Monday. “The troops will depart on Thursday – they will take a flight from the Karmėlava airport.”
The bulk of the Portuguese supplies consisted of Pandur armoured vehicles. The reconnaissance unit was attending a training in Lithuania since April.
After the Portuguese soldiers leave, the US rotational troops deployed in 2014 will stay in Lithuania to continue participation in the US-led deterrence operation Atlantic Resolve.
In June, the US announced its plans to station 250 units of heavy machinery – tanks, howitzers and armoured vehicles in six Eastern European countries including Lithuania, with the equipment expected in Lithuania next year.
A joint unit of Belgian and Luxembourger soldiers should arrive in Lithuania in the end of September, bringing their Piranha armoured vehicles and a few reconnaissance machines.
The 2014 NATO summit in Wales reached agreement on the preparation action plan, which, in addition to other security measures, envisages stepping up NATO capacities in the Eastern part of the Alliance.
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