Lithuania’s Defence Ministry plans to spend more than 3.1 billion euros on military stockpiles acquisitions over the next decade, the ministry said on Friday.
Ammunition will make the largest part of the planned military stockpiles, around 90 percent, while the rest will include various engineering solutions and explosive materials.
“As the national defence system is acquiring new state-of-the-art weapon systems, it is also acquiring the necessary ammunition and expanding its servicing and storage infrastructure. We pay a lot of attention and allocate a lot of funds to accumulate ammunition and other military stockpiles,” Defence Minister Arvydas Anušauskas said.
According to the ministry, the funds allocated for ammunition stockpiling have tripled over the last three years, with almost 750 million euros earmarked for 2021–2023. On average, 16 percent of total defence spending goes to ammunition each year.
The ministry points out that until 2020, around a tenth of the defence budget was allocated for the same purpose. The vast majority of the ammunition stockpiling is meant for basic combat ammunition.
Lithuania has signed several contracts for the purchase of ammunition this year and is acquiring medium-range surface-to-air AMRAAM missiles and Javelin anti-tank missiles from the United States, Carl-Gustaf grenade launchers and RBS-70 short-range air defence missiles from Sweden, and is also buying ammunition of various calibre (from 4.6 to 40 mm) through the NATO Support and Procurement Agency (NSPA).
According to the ministry, there are also incentives for the national defence industry. A contract was signed earlier this year with the Giraitė Armaments Factory, a Lithuanian maker of small calibre ammunition, for the purchase of 7.62x51 mm ammunition.
A total of around 2.7 billion euros is planned in Lithuania’s defence budget for acquisitions in 2024–2026. The ministry says this means that around 45 percent of the defence budget will be allocated annually to strengthening and upgrading the Lithuanian military’s combat power.
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