Lithuania signed an agreement with the United States for the purchase of 8 HIMARS mobile missile systems. The value of the deal is $495 million.
This was reported by the national broadcaster LRT.
"This is a huge step for our army... This acquisition will fundamentally change the capabilities of the Lithuanian army," Lithuanian Defense Minister Arvydas Anusauskas noted.
Lithuania is buying HIMARS systems, ammunition for them, equipment to maintain the systems and training services for their use.
Procurement is conducted through the U.S. government, which places orders in the U.S. arms industry, from private manufacturers. In addition to standard missiles, Lithuania is purchasing long-range ATACMS missiles that fly at a distance of 300 kilometers.
In order to purchase weapons, Lithuania needed to obtain permits from the U.S. government, a process that took about half a year. Due to the urgent need due to the ongoing war in Ukraine, the USA has already sent HIMARS systems there from its military reserves. Lithuania, like other countries that buy weapons, will have to wait until new blocks are made. The first systems should arrive in Lithuania in 2025.
Thus, all three Baltic states and Poland will have HIMARS systems in the region. Poland ordered 20 HIMARS systems back in 2019, paying $414 million for them at the prices of that time. A few weeks ago, Estonia signed a contract for the purchase of six HIMARS systems, and Latvia also asked the United States to purchase these systems.