Lithuania’s State Defence Council has approved the purchase of KNDS Leopard 2 main battle tanks and BAE Systems Hagglunds CV-90 tracked infantry fighting vehicles (IFVs).
The approval follows on from an announcement earlier this month of the acquisition of an additional 27 ARTEC Boxer-Vilkas IFVs for the Lithuanian Armed Forces.
Lithuania minister of national defence Laurynas Kasčiūnas said the country “plans to sign a contract for the formation of a battalion of tanks in the near future” and to break the acquisition into stages to “enable the purchase air defence systems sooner”.
The number of Leopards to be purchased under