Lithuanian troops are conducting explosive tests on different types of bunkers at the General Silvestras Žukauskas military training area in Pabradė to determine which materials offer the best protection against artillery fire, the military said on Wednesday.
The tests simulate the blasts of standard Russian artillery shells. Troops then measure pressure, sound levels, wall vibrations inside the bunker, and other indicators, the Armed Forces said in a press release.
The goal is to assess whether a bunker that appears intact after a strike actually protects the personnel inside. Based on the results and construction costs, the military will identify the most effective materials for building soldier shelters.
The bunkers are part of a project to install company strongpoints at the Pabradė area and the General Kazys Veverskis military training area in Kazlų Rūda by the end of the year.
A company strongpoint is a defensive line stretching over a kilometre and designed to be held by a company-sized military unit of around 120 troops. Once built, the strongpoints will remain in place and be used for training exercises focused on defensive operations from fortified positions.
The project also aims to incorporate best practices in fortification, apply lessons learned from Ukraine, and select the most effective and innovative solutions to maximize troop protection.
Once the materials supplied by manufacturers are evaluated through practical testing and the optimal protective structure is developed, these materials will also be added to the future inventory of engineering assets for use in building bunkers and other positions.
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