Lithuania should raise its national defence spending to 4 percent of GDP to be able to acquire long-range air defence systems and other military equipment, according to Defence Minister Laurynas Kasčiūnas.
“In my opinion, the target we should be discussing is raising defence funding to 4 percent of GDP,” Kasčiūnas told reporters at the congress of the ruling conservative Homeland Union-Lithuanian Christian Democrats on Sunday.
“This would allow us not only to maintain what we want but also to start considering a national Patriot program, that is, the acquisition of long-range air defence systems, as well as combat helicopters that would be effective against enemy forces,” he added.
In August, the government allocated an additional 130 million euros for weapons procurement, bringing this year’s defence spending to 3.2 percent of GDP.
The current security and defence agreement among political parties does not include specific commitments on defence funding, but the parliament decided earlier this year to raise some taxes to boost it to at least 3 percent of GDP.
President Gitanas Nausėda has said that Lithuania should spend at least 3.5 percent of its GDP on defence each year.
HIMARS centre
According to Kasčiūnas, Vilnius is also in talks with Warsaw about setting up a regional HIMARS rocket launcher ammunition logistics centre. However, he said the next steps depend on an agreement between Poland and the US.
“The Poles will first reach an agreement with the Americans on all the modalities, and then we will move in. There is a chain here. Of course, we are talking with the Poles and are ready to jump in at any time,” the defence minister told BNS.
His comments came after President Nausėda said during his recent visit to Poland that the authorities of the two countries had already started working on the initiative.
Nausėda first mentioned in April that Lithuania was looking to partner with Poland to establish a regional logistics centre for HIMARS ammunition launchers.
Kasčiūnas said he could not comment on other countries’ decisions, but expressed hope that Poland and the US would agree on the logistics centre in 2025.
In late 2021, Lithuania signed a contract for 495 million dollars with the US for the acquisition of eight HIMARS systems.
The first deliveries are expected in 2025, with full operational capability for the HIMARS systems anticipated by 2027.
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