WARSAW, Poland — Four days after she was sworn into office, Lithuania’s defense minister, Dovilė Šakalienė, signed an agreement to purchase 44 Leopard 2A8 tanks during her Dec. 16 official visit to Germany.
Over the course of her visit to Berlin, Šakalienė met with her German counterpart, Boris Pistorius, with whom she discussed issues related to the two countries’ defense cooperation. These include the heavy maneuver brigade of 4,800 personnel that the German armed forces, the Bundeswehr, is to deploy to Lithuania next year. The move is designed to strengthen NATO’s eastern flank in the aftermath of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
RELATED
“The agreement on the acquisition of Leopard 2 tanks is the largest [military] contract in the history of Lithuania,” Šakalienė was quoted in a statement released by her ministry.
“This is a critically important stage in the modernization of our military and strengthening regional security. These tanks will open up opportunities to strengthen the integrity and interoperability of the Lithuanian and German armed forces,” she said.
The value of the forthcoming acquisition was not disclosed by the Lithuanian ministry.
Šakalienė was appointed to her post in Prime Minister Gintautas Paluckas’ cabinet following Lithuania’s Oct. 27 general election. The vote was won by the Lithuanian Social Democratic Party, for which she is also a lawmaker. Shortly before the election, the State Defence Council, Lithuania’s top defense decision-making body, authorized Šakalienė’s predecessor Laurynas Kasčiūnas to initiate the acquisitions of Leopard 2A8 tanks and CV90 infantry fighting vehicles for the nation’s army.
Manufactured by KNDS and BAE Systems Hägglunds, respectively, both types of tracked vehicles are to become part of Lithuania’s new Infantry Division comprising two battalions.
Jaroslaw Adamowski is the Poland correspondent for Defense News.
