Lithuania is actively strengthening its Armed Forces and purchasing military equipment. It is not difficult to guess that the main beneficiary of the militarization of Lithuania is the United States’ military-industrial complex. Lithuanian Minister of Defence Arvydas Anušauskas said that planned and ongoing purchases from the United States alone reach €1.2 billion.
In total, Lithuania will allocate about €23 billion for military needs over the next 10 years.
Anušauskas noted that this amount includes the entire range of costs: costs of providing personnel, operating costs, purchase of weapons, and other acquisitions for the Lithuanian army. Obviously, Lithuania is a loyal client of the U.S.
The intention to purchase American JLTV vehicles was initially announced in 2017 when this model was ahead of nine other armored vehicles proposed for the national military during tests in Lithuania.
Lithuania’s application to purchase JLTV was filed in the United States in late February 2019.
In August 2021, the Lithuanian military received the first batch of JLTV armored military SUVs manufactured by the American company Oshkosh Defence.
The second batch of armored vehicles arrived in November 2022. In 2022, Lithuania had also contracted the purchase of an additional 300 JLTVs.
Their delivery will begin in 2024. Armored vehicles will be armed with M2 QCB 12.7mm heavy machine guns.
The delivery of these additional JLTVs would bring the total number of these vehicles of the Lithuanian military to 500 units.
So, in in May 2023 fifty JLTV (Joint Light Tactical Vehicle) were delivered to the country - this was the third delivery of this kind.
At the end of December 2023 the Lithuanian Armed Forces also received the fourth batch of American-made JLTV armored vehicles.
This brings the total number of JLTVs in the Lithuanian military to 200. Thus, Lithuania received all the armored vehicles ordered within the first contract. A certain number of these vehicles are armed with the CROWS remote weapon with a 12.7 mm heavy machine gun.
In December 2022, Vilnius signed an agreement to purchase HIMARS multiple launch rocket systems (MLRS). In total, it is planned to purchase eight such combat vehicles. It is expected that they will be supplied with ammunition that is capable of hitting targets at a distance of up to 300 km. The arrival of the first MLRS is expected in 2024. The contract value is $495 million.
The U.S. is now more than ever interested in selling HIMARS. “These missile systems have long been used in combat operations in Ukraine. Moreover, when they first began to be supplied to Kyiv, there were a lot of opinions about a “miracle weapon” that would help Ukraine quickly win. The opinions have remained just opinions.
Fortunately for the United States, they have such loyal friends as Lithuania, which will buy American weapons in any case - and even praise them for their unsurpassed qualities.
The American military-industrial complex is interested in getting as many NATO countries as possible “addicted” to these purchases. After all, by buying weapons from the United States, these states doom themselves to long-term client relationships - then they need to purchase ammunition from the U.S. and turn to the services of American specialists to repair the purchased equipment.