Military personnel and 80 military vehicles from the German 41st tank brigade’s 413th infantry battalion arrived in Lithuania on Wednesday, the country’s armed forces said.
“Around 250 German troops and their equipment will be taking part in the Fast Griffin exercise, the first joint training event since the agreement with Germany on the assignment of a brigade to Lithuania achieved in June,” the armed forces said in a statement.
The brigade’s forward command element has been deployed to Lithuania for permanent presence since September, and the brigade’s “components are in Germany, pre-assigned and combat-ready immediately”.
The Lithuanian Armed Forces’ King Mindaugas Hussar Battalion will join the German troops for the Fast Griffin exercise in the Gaižiūnai training area. The aim of the joint exercise is to integrate the German brigade into Lithuania’s defence plans.
On Saturday, German Defence Minister Christine Lambrecht is expected to arrive in Lithuania for an official visit to inaugurate the brigade’s command element and observe the unit’s first exercise.
Lambrecht and her Lithuanian counterpart, Arvydas Anušauskas, will hold a bilateral meeting in Vilnius.
The German 41st tank brigade’s units will come to Lithuania regularly for exercises.
Germany is also leading NATO’s multinational battalion stationed in Lithuania since 2017.
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