Lithuania to establish two new military training areas

Lithuania’s National Defence Council on Wednesday approved the establishment of two new military training areas in Tauragė and Šilalė districts.

“The members of the State Defence Council approved the establishment of two military training areas in Tauragė and Šilalė districts. The envisaged locations would be suitable for manoeuvres of a company-sized unit,” Kęstutis Budrys, the president’s chief national security adviser, told reporters after the council meeting.

The council also recommended that the two sites be given the status of national importance and that the legal framework, which allows a faster establishment, be used.

“You know that our need for training space is huge, as we have more and more allies, and our military forces need training spaces,” said Defence Minister Laurynas Kasčiūnas.

According to the Defence Ministry, the military training area will cover 4,304 hectares in the Tauragė district and 2,677 hectares in Šilalė.

Kasčiūnas noted that the search for land for the new training locations focused on areas where state land dominates and there are few private homesteads.

In his words, the Defence Ministry has already drafted special bills on the establishment of the training areas. They are set to be submitted to the government soon, and lawmakers will debate them during the extended spring session.

Laurynas Kasčiūnas | J. Stacevičiaus / LRT nuotr.

Kasčiūnas hopes that the laws will be adopted during the parliament’s fall session and that work on the establishment of the new training areas will start in the fall.

Lithuanian officials are looking for new training locations as the country receives more and more allied forces and the country’s own armed forces expand.

Lithuania is establishing a national army division, which is expected to reach full operational capability by 2030.

Following the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Vilnius and Berlin also agreed on the permanent deployment of a German brigade to Lithuania. Berlin plans to do so by 2027, with the bulk of the brigade to be based in the Rūdninkai training area. Lithuania has vowed to have the necessary infrastructure in place until then.

A battalion of American troops is also stationed in Lithuania on a rotational basis.

Lithuania also intends to gradually prepare for universal conscription. The country’s parliament adopted a conscription reform in June, and it will increase the number of conscripts.