Lithuania orders German PzH 2000s

[Zarvan]

Lithuania has ordered 21 PzH 2000 SPAs from Germany, of which 16 will be used operationally by the Iron Wolf Brigade's artillery battalion, with the remainder for spares and training. Source: Bundeswehr
Key Points

• Lithuania has ordered 21 PzH 2000s from former German Army stocks
• The new SPAs will replace the country's former Danish 105 mm towed howitzers

Lithuania signed a EUR58.3 million (USD65.4 million) contract with Germany on 29 September for 21 Panzerhaubitze 2000 (PzH 2000) 155 mm self-propelled artillery (SPA) systems.

The SPAs, which are of ex-German Army service, will be operated by the Lithuanian Army's General Romualdas Giedraitis Artillery Battalion. In total the battalion will operate 16 PzH 2000s, with the remaining five SPAs being used for spare parts (three), gunnery training (one) and driver training (one).

In addition to the howitzers, Lithuania is also buying 32 support vehicles from Germany as part of the sale. These comprise 26 M577A2 tracked command post vehicles (a variant of the M113 family), and six Bergepanzer 2 (BPZ-2) recovery vehicles, based on the Leopard 1 tank chassis.

The first PzH 2000 is scheduled for delivery in 2016, with all equipment delivered by 2019, according to the Lithuanian Ministry of National Defence (MoD).

Of the EUR58.3 million being spent on the programme, EUR16.2 million is being paid to the German Federal Ministry of Defence for the equipment itself. The remaining EUR42.1 million will be spent on modernising the mothballed equipment and on infrastructure/training for the new systems. The modernisation work is stated to include a battlefield management system and communications equipment.

The German Army will support the programme with technical assistance and by training Lithuanian personnel in Lithuania and at the German School of Artillery in Idar-Oberstein.

The General Romualdas Giedraitis Artillery Battalion currently relies on 105 mm M101 towed howitzers for fire support, purchased originally from Denmark - one of several Lithuanian-Danish defence deals done in the early 2000s. The Lithuanian MoD noted that the PzH 2000's 40 km range is a major improvement over the 11 km range of the M101.

Want to read more? For analysis on this article and access to all our insight content, please enquire about our subscription options ihs.com/contact




To read the full article, Client Login
(333 of 640 words)

Lithuania orders German PzH 2000s - IHS Jane's 360