On September 29 a contract on procuring PzH 2000 self-propelled howitzers from the German Armed Forces will be signed at the Lithuanian Ministry of National Defence. The contract will be endorsed by MoD Director General for Capabilities and Armaments Colonel Darius Užkuraitis and Head of Armament Department of the Federal Ministry of Defence Wilfried Georg, the Lithuanian MoD announced today September 29.
Lithuania's Commander of the Logistics Command Colonel Sigitas Mundris will sign the contract on behalf of the Lithuanian Armed Forces, the recipient of the equipment. The contract will be endorsed in the presence of Minister of National Defence Juozas Olekas and Ambassador of Germany in Lithuania HE Jutta Schmitz
Analysis
Lithuania will obtain 21 155mm PzH 2000 self-propelled howitzers from Germany under the contract. Only 16 PzH 2000’s will be used for combat purposes with two for training purposes and three reserves for spare parts. The first of the howitzers are expected to be brought to Lithuania in 2016, with the rest to come until the deadline of 2019.
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| PzH 2000 self-propelled howitzers |
Aside from the 21 PzH 2000’s there will also be a transfer of 26 M577 armored command vehicles and 6 BPZ2 recovery tanks. The M577 is a command version based on the M113 armored personnel carrier while the BPZ2 is used to recover tanks.
This contract will further help the mechanization of the Lithuanian Armed Forces but it also places Germany as a reliable provider of arms and military equipment. Given the current bad relations between Russia and most of the nations in Eastern Europe then it becomes clear how Germany can benefit from a role as weapons provider for this region.
Until recently the Baltic States and Poland were more looking to the United States to provide modern weapons, training and protection. As a result the political connection between these countries is strong. Would Germany be able to become a big weapon provider in Eastern Europe then this will translate itself in more political interaction and influence for Germany in this region.
This political influence will benefit Germany when dealing with Russia. Germany can now send strong warnings to Russia by allowing arm sales to continue with Eastern European states or by blocking them. At the same time it will place Germany in a stronger position inside the EU and NATO, further expanding the idea that Germany is the stronger power in central and Eastern Europe.
Germany has already been described as the economic engine of the EU and the financial crisis in Greece as well as the tensions in Eastern Ukraine have shown that Germany has a lot of political power in the EU. Somehow the role of Germany as a strong military power still lags behind. With Germany increasing its tank forces by 150% and selling modern weapons to Lithuania it is possible that Germany slowly starts to take on a more active role when it comes to defending the EU and NATO.
