**Vilnius**: Lithuania’s Defence Minister Dovilė Šakalienė announces agreements with major US defence firms during meetings in Washington, aiming for industrial cooperation and integration of local businesses into their supply chains, alongside plans for a visit by US representatives to discuss local production capabilities.
Lithuania’s Defence Minister, Dovilė Šakalienė, recently concluded a series of meetings in Washington with key representatives from major American defence companies, including RTX, Northrop Grumman, Lockheed Martin, and AM General. Following these discussions, she announced that significant steps towards industrial cooperation between Lithuania and these US defence firms have been agreed upon.
During her address to journalists on Friday, Šakalienė highlighted the productive nature of the conversations, indicating that they encompassed opportunities for Lithuanian businesses to integrate into the supply chains of these defence giants. “We had very productive discussions with US defense giants both about the potential for Lithuanian companies to join the supply chains as suppliers to replace some of the current lower-quality suppliers and about the creation of joint ventures, certain manufacturing, assembly, and the establishment of service centers in Lithuania,” she said.
An important aspect of the discussions was the plan for representatives from the US companies to visit Vilnius in the near future. This visit is intended to focus on identifying specific components and types of weaponry that the companies would like to see produced in Lithuania. “Then we’ll go through the list of specific components and the types of weaponry options they would like to see produced in Lithuania. We’ll also make assessments as to certain service centers and which Lithuanian companies they could work with,” the minister elaborated.
Šakalienė noted her disappointment at not being able to meet with US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth during her trip, attributing the missed opportunity to “collapsed schedules.” Nonetheless, she received communication indicating a desire to arrange a bilateral meeting in the near future, which she hopes can be organised shortly.
Lithuania has positioned itself as the largest buyer of US arms among the Baltic states, having acquired military equipment valued at approximately 2 billion euros, which encompasses nearly 20 percent of its total military acquisitions. The equipment obtained includes advanced systems such as Javelin anti-tank missiles, Joint Light Tactical Vehicles (JLTVs), Black Hawk helicopters, HIMARS rocket artillery systems, AMRAAM missiles for NASAMS air defence systems, and Switchblade drones.
In addition to these agreements, discussions are ongoing this year regarding the establishment of a 30mm ammunition production line at the Giraitė factory site in the Kaunas District, with Northrop Grumman. A joint venture agreement is anticipated to be finalised in the first half of the year. The potential investments related to this production line could amount to tens of millions of euros, although the exact figures and share distribution between Northrop Grumman and the Lithuanian government will depend on the unfolding negotiations.
Source: Noah Wire Services
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