Lithuania will acquire 18 French Caesar Mark II new-generation 155 mm self-propelled wheeled howitzers, the Defence Ministry has said.
During his visit to Paris on Thursday, Defence Minister Arvydas Anušauskas and his French counterpart Sebastien Lecorn confirmed a bilateral agreement on joining the Caesar Mark II development programme, Defence Ministry said in a press release.
According to the ministers, the agreement significantly strengthens both the Lithuanian Armed Forces and military cooperation between Lithuania and France.
“Analysing the course of the war in Ukraine, we see the need to strengthen the direct fire support of the Lithuanian Armed Forces. As Lithuania continues its regular military support to Ukraine with military equipment, we need to rebuild our own capabilities,” Anušauskas was quoted as saying in the press release.
“That’s why we have decided to acquire Caesar Mark II new-generation artillery systems that will be versatile and adapted to a wide range of artillery tasks,” he added.
The Defence Ministry plans to spend around 110 to 150 million euros on the entire Caesar Mark II artillery systems development and acquisition project. The deadline for delivery of the howitzers to the Lithuanian Armed Forces is 2027.
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