Lithuania is planning to establish a state-owned holding company to bring together defence industry companies, according to Deputy Defence Minister Orijana Mašalė.
“The prime minister has already stated his position that defence industry companies should operate within a certain holding structure. This could be a state-owned company that would perform a holding function, encompassing various defence areas,” Mašalė said in an interview with BNS.
“Currently, these companies are scattered across different institutions that exercise shareholder rights, and new areas where they could operate are emerging. That is why the idea is to bring everything under one umbrella, and the related work will begin soon,” she added.
According to Mašalė, a state-owned holding company would help streamline management, concentrate managerial competencies, and provide stability and clarity for potential partners.
For now, the plan only involves defence sector companies and does not include those responsible for transport infrastructure, she noted.
Prime Minister Gintautas Paluckas has previously said that Lithuania aims to establish joint defence industry companies and factories with local and foreign capital, with the government also taking a stake.
Currently, the Finance Ministry holds 100 percent of shares in Giraitės Ginkluotės Gamykla (Giraitė Armament Plant, GGG), a small-calibre ammunition manufacturer in Kaunas District, and the Transport Ministry is the sole shareholder of Detonas, an explosives manufacturer registered in Kaunas with units in Pakruojis and Akmenė.
The Defence Materiel Agency, which is responsible for public procurement within the defence system and managing allocated funds, operates under the Defence Ministry. Last August, a new Defence Industry Policy and Innovation Department was set up within the agency for cooperation with businesses.
Germany’s defence industry giant Rheinmetall, in partnership with two Lithuanian state-owned companies, Epso-G Invest and GGG, is set to launch this year a project to build a 155 mm artillery ammunition factory in Baisogala, a small town in the northern district of Radviliškis. The investment is estimated at 260-300 million euros.
Additionally, the government is continuing talks with the US defence technology giant Northrop Grumman on building a 30 mm ammunition production line at the Giraitė factory site in Kaunas District.
Lithuania has also signed a memorandum of intent with an undisclosed Ukrainian company to collaborate on building an RDX explosives plant. According to data collected by BNS, the Ukrainian company in question is the Center of Special Chemistry.
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