On June 24 two 155 mm self-propelled PzH2000 (Panzerhaubitze 2000) howitzers the Lithuanian Armed Forces have acquired from the German Armed Forces were brought to General ROmualdas Giedraitis Artillery Battalion, Mechanised Infantry Brigade Iron Wolf
These are the first of the 16 155mm self-propelled howitzers bought for combat purposes by the Lithuanian Armed Forces from the German Armed Forces under a contract signed last September, 5 more are acquired for training and spare parts.
Apart from the howitzers the Lithuanian Armed Forces also acquired 26 M577 V2 armoured command vehicles and 6 BPZ2 recovery tanks, 53 pieces of materiel in total. The rest of the equipment is mapped out to arrive in Lithuania by 2019.
Lithuanian soldiers will soon start training to master the newly received advanced and particularly capable equipment and the first shots are expected to be fired within several months at Exercise Flaming Thunder.
The new purchase of the Lithuanian Armed Forces will be used by General Romualdas Giedraitis Artillery Battalion of the Mechanised Infantry Brigade Iron Wolf based in Rukla. The Battalion currently operates 105mm howitzers with effective range of 11 kilometres, while the new PzH2000 self-propelled howitzers will enable it to destroy targets at the range of 40 km.
German representatives have already finished training Lithuanians who will responsible for the maintenance and servicing of the equipment, as well as crews serving the artillery system and the personnel planning operations. After the training in Germany, the Lithuanian troops will transfer the experience of employing the PzH2000 to Lithuanian colleagues.
