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The Lithuanian Land Forces (LLF) form the backbone of the Lithuanian Armed Forces, capable of acting as an integral part of NATO forces. Lithuanian Land Forces consist of three brigades, the
Engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who invent, design, analyze, build and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while considering the lim ...
Battalion, and the National Defence Volunteers Division.


Structure

The main element of the Land Forces is a single mechanised infantry brigade, the Iron Wolf Mechanised Infantry Brigade. This is formed around three
mechanized infantry Mechanized infantry are infantry units equipped with armored personnel carriers (APCs) or infantry fighting vehicles (IFVs) for transport and combat (see also mechanized force). As defined by the United States Army, mechanized infantry is dist ...
battalions and an artillery battalion, all named after Lithuanian grand dukes as the tradition of the Lithuanian Armed Forces goes. In addition to the formed infantry brigade, the Land Forces maintain a second brigade composed of three
motorised infantry Motorized infantry is infantry that is transported by trucks or other motor vehicles. It is distinguished from mechanized infantry, which is carried in armoured personnel carriers or infantry fighting vehicles, and from light infantry, which ca ...
battalions and one artillery battalion; one of these is tasked to support operations both domestically and overseas; one is tasked primarily with the defence of territorial Lithuania. There is a third brigade, which is a mobilization brigade but in peace time is a training unit. Juozas Vitkus Engineer Battalion is responsible for
mine clearance Demining or mine clearance is the process of removing land mines from an area. In military operations, the object is to rapidly clear a path through a minefield, and this is often done with devices such as mine plows and blast waves. By contr ...
, the construction of
pontoon bridges A pontoon bridge (or ponton bridge), also known as a floating bridge, uses floats or shallow- draft boats to support a continuous deck for pedestrian and vehicle travel. The buoyancy of the supports limits the maximum load that they can carry. ...
, unexploded ordnance detonation tasks, underwater engineering, and participation in search and rescue operations. The Explosive Ordnance Disposal Platoon is ready to participate in international operations. Starting in 2008, the Lithuanian Armed Forces launched a 10-year-long project continuing mine cleaning on Lithuanian territory of explosives left after the First and Second World War, and in former
Soviet military The Soviet Armed Forces, the Armed Forces of the Soviet Union and as the Red Army (, Вооружённые Силы Советского Союза), were the armed forces of the Russian SFSR (1917–1922), the Soviet Union (1922–1991), and th ...
bases. As an integral part of the Land Forces, the National Defence Volunteers have been developing since the beginning of the national movement for
independence Independence is a condition of a person, nation, country, or state in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the st ...
. The volunteers act smoothly together with the Allies during
military operations A military operation is the coordinated military actions of a state, or a non-state actor, in response to a developing situation. These actions are designed as a military plan to resolve the situation in the state or actor's favor. Operations may ...
and have been assigned new missions: to augment the regular forces, to deploy individual units and specific capabilities for international operations, to assist host nation support and to support the civilian authorities.


Units

With the reintroduction of conscription in 2015 the Lithuanian Land Force began an expansion of its main combat formations, which concluded in early 2017: * ''Iron Wolf'' Mechanized Infantry Brigade, in
Rukla Rukla is a small town in Kaunas County in central Lithuania. In 2011 it had a population of 2,098. Administrative centre of Rukla Eldership. The national Refugees Reception Center hosts all refugees coming to the country. Military base Five ...
: ** Headquarters and Headquarters Company, in Rukla ** , in
Panevėžys Panevėžys (; Latin: ''Panevezen''; pl, Poniewież; yi, פּאָנעװעזש, ''Ponevezh''; see also other names) is the fifth largest city in Lithuania. As of 2011, it occupied with 113,653 inhabitants. As defined by Eurostat, the population ...
** , in
Alytus Alytus is a city with municipal rights in southern Lithuania. It is the capital of Alytus County. Its population in 2022 was 53,925. Alytus is the historical centre of the Dzūkija region. The city lies on the banks of the Nemunas River. The ma ...
** , in Rukla ** , in Rukla **
General Romualdas Giedraitis Artillery Battalion The General Romualdas Giedraitis Artillery Battalion, equipped with 155mm howitzers, was founded in December 2000, under a joint Lithuanian-Danish project – LITART. The Danish Army provided material and methodical assistance in the founding of ...
, in Rukla with
PzH2000 The Panzerhaubitze 2000 ("tank howitzer 2000"), () abbreviated PzH 2000, is a German 155 mm self-propelled howitzer developed by Krauss-Maffei Wegmann (KMW) and Rheinmetall in the 1980s and 1990s for the German Army. It is capable of a very high ...
self-propelled howitzers ** Logistics Battalion, in Rukla ** Reconnaissance Company, in Rukla ** Signal Company, in Rukla * , in
Klaipėda Klaipėda (; ; german: Memel; pl, Kłajpeda; russian: Клайпеда; sgs, Klaipieda) is a city in Lithuania on the Baltic Sea coast. The capital of the Klaipėda County, eponymous county, it is List of cities in Lithuania, the third largest ...
: (activated 1 January 2016) ** Headquarters and Headquarters Company ** , in Klaipėda ** , in
Tauragė Tauragė (; see other names) is an industrial city in Lithuania, and the capital of Tauragė County. In 2020, its population was 21,520. Tauragė is situated on the Jūra River, close to the border with the Kaliningrad Oblast, and not far fro ...
** '' Prince Margiris'' Motorized Infantry Battalion, in
Radviliškis Radviliškis () (german: Radwilischken; pl, Radziwiliszki; yi, ראדווילישאָק, ''Radvilishok'') is a town in the Radviliškis district municipality, Šiauliai County, Lithuania. Radviliškis has been the administrative center of th ...
** ''Brigadier general '' Artillery Battalion, in Pajūris with
M101 howitzer The M101A1 (previously designated M2A1) howitzer is an artillery piece developed and used by the United States. It was the standard U.S. light field howitzer in World War II and saw action in both the European and Pacific theaters and during t ...
s ** Logistics Battalion ** Reconnaissance Company ** Signal Company, in Klaipėda *
Aukštaitija Aukštaitija (; literally in Lithuanian: ''Upper lands'') is the name of one of five ethnographic regions of Lithuania. The name comes from lands being in upper basin of Nemunas River or being relative to Lowlands up to Šiauliai. Geography Auk ...
Light Infantry Brigade, in Vilnius: (activated 23 March 2017) ** Headquarters and Headquarters Company ** Light Infantry (Reserve) Battalion ** Light Infantry (Reserve) Battalion ** Light Infantry (Reserve) Battalion ** Artillery (Reserve) Battalion with M101 howitzers ** Logistics Battalion ** Reconnaissance Company ** Signal Company * , in Kaunas * Lithuanian National Defence Volunteer Forces The Aukštaitija Light Infantry Brigade is a reserve formation: during peacetime its staff teaches at the Lithuanian Armed Forces Training and Doctrine Command, while its four maneuver battalions are made up of reservists. The only active units are the brigade's reconnaissance company (which is composed of conscripts) and the headquarters, signal and logistic units (which are composed of professional soldiers). When called upon the brigade will field around 4,500 troops. File:US and Lithuanian troops conduct joint training near of Klaipėda (2021-02-15).webm, Joint training of the 2nd Battalion, 8th Cavalry Regiment from the United States Army alongside the Lithuanian Grand Duke Butigeidis Dragoon Battalion as part of the Operation Atlantic Resolve. Near the city of
Klaipėda Klaipėda (; ; german: Memel; pl, Kłajpeda; russian: Клайпеда; sgs, Klaipieda) is a city in Lithuania on the Baltic Sea coast. The capital of the Klaipėda County, eponymous county, it is List of cities in Lithuania, the third largest ...
, Lithuania, 15 February 2021.


Equipment

In reforming the Armed Forces, most of the available attention and financial resources have been directed to the development of the Land Forces. Lithuania has been modernizing its armed forces since 1990s and by now nearly all equipment is compatible with the NATO standards. The current efforts focus on increasing the firepower, acquiring new equipment and armaments, enhancing their operational effectiveness and
combat training Combat ( French for ''fight'') is a purposeful violent conflict meant to physically harm or kill the opposition. Combat may be armed (using weapons) or unarmed ( not using weapons). Combat is sometimes resorted to as a method of self-defense, ...
. The standard service assault rifle of the Lithuanian Armed Forces is the Heckler & Koch G36 and the standard
pistol A pistol is a handgun, more specifically one with the chamber integral to its gun barrel, though in common usage the two terms are often used interchangeably. The English word was introduced in , when early handguns were produced in Europe, a ...
is the
Glock 17 Glock is a brand of polymer- framed, short recoil-operated, locked-breech semi-automatic pistols designed and produced by Austrian manufacturer Glock Ges.m.b.H. The firearm entered Austrian military and police service by 1982 after it was th ...
. The Lithuanian Land Forces are also equipped with machine guns, including the
GPMG A general-purpose machine gun (GPMG) is an air-cooled, usually belt-fed machine gun that can be adapted flexibly to various tactical roles for light and medium machine guns. A GPMG typically features a quick-change barrel design calibered for ...
MG-3, the
FN MAG The FN MAG is a Belgian 7.62 mm general-purpose machine gun, designed in the early 1950s at Fabrique Nationale (FN) by Ernest Vervier. It has been used by more than 80 countries and it has been made under licence in several countries, in ...
, and the 12.7mm (.50 cal.)
M2 Browning machine gun The M2 machine gun or Browning .50 caliber machine gun (informally, "Ma Deuce") is a heavy machine gun that was designed towards the end of World War I by John Browning. Its design is similar to Browning's earlier M1919 Browning machine gun, ...
. They also employ the AT-4 anti-tank rockets and Carl Gustav anti-tank recoilless rifles,
HK GMG The GMG (''Granatmaschinengewehr'' or "grenade machine gun") is an automatic grenade launcher developed by Heckler & Koch for the German Army. It is also often referred to as GMW or GraMaWa (''Granatmaschinenwaffe''). Design details The GMG fir ...
high-velocity grenade launchers, and low-velocity AG-36 under-the-barrel grenade launchers, in addition to light and heavy
mortars Mortar may refer to: * Mortar (weapon), an indirect-fire infantry weapon * Mortar (masonry), a material used to fill the gaps between blocks and bind them together * Mortar and pestle, a tool pair used to crush or grind * Mortar, Bihar, a village ...
. The army also uses high-technology Lithuanian-made tactical automated commanding and controlling informational systems ( TAVVIS).


Reserves

Lithuanian Land Forces are formed from professional military servicemen and volunteers. In 2008 the minister of national defence of Lithuania signed a law that ceased
conscription Conscription (also called the draft in the United States) is the state-mandated enlistment of people in a national service, mainly a military service. Conscription dates back to antiquity and it continues in some countries to the present day un ...
in an effort to develop Lithuania's professional army.
National defence National security, or national defence, is the security and defence of a sovereign state, including its citizens, economy, and institutions, which is regarded as a duty of government. Originally conceived as protection against military attac ...
is based on reserve forces and mobilisation forces. The new minister plans to increase national defence capabilities by making all males from 18 to 24 take 7 week military basic training. After that the person will be added to the
military reserves A military reserve force is a military organization whose members have military and civilian occupations. They are not normally kept under arms, and their main role is to be available when their military requires additional manpower. Reserve ...
. The military conscription has been renewed in 2015 with a first draft of approx. 3000 draftees including volunteers, who will be assigned to military units starting from August 2015 and will complete a 9-month basic training. The updated law specifies that a draft of 3000 soldiers annually will continue at least until 2020, citing as the reason for renewed conscription the increased geopolitical risks in the region.


Notes


References


Lithuanian Ministry of Defence site
*Stefan Marx, 'Lithuania's Defence Structure,' Jane's Intelligence Review, September 1993, p. 407–409


Sources

*


External links


Map of the dislocation of the units of the Lithuanian Land Force in 2020
{{Allied Land Command