Defense Vehicle Repair Plans
Lithuania has signed a contract worth 12 million euros to build a plant for infantry fighting vehicles (IFVs) in Rukla, Jonava District. The plant which would repair armoured, tracked and wheeled vehicles, trucks, and equipment, would be built in the territory of the Lithuanian Grand Duke Algirdas Mechanized Infantry Battalion, the defence ministry announced in a press release on March 22.
The plant, approximately 5,000 square metres in size, will be the biggest in the Lithuanian Armed Forces, the ministry said. A construction contract was signed between the defence ministry’s Infrastructure Management Agency and private company Jungtiniai Projektai. Construction work is planned to be finalized by July 2023.
“The future plant is closely related to the IFVs’ acquisition program being implemented by the Lithuanian Armed Forces, which is particularly important for ensuring national security,” the press release quoted Deputy Defence Minister Vilius Semeška as saying. Earlier this month, the defence ministry initiated talks on the second stage of Vilkas (Wolf) IFVs’ acquisition project.
If the contract is signed, the Lithuanian Armed Forces would be reinforced with more than 120 additional Boxer-type IFVs. Some of them will be armed with 30 mm cannons, and others with 12.7 mm machine guns. Earlier, Lithuania purchased approximately 90 Vilkas IFVs. Their delivery will be completed this year. LRT.lt
