The Lithuanian defense ministry has announced the delivery of a second batch of 50 Joint Light Tactical Vehicles (JLTVs) from Oshkosh Defense.
The vehicles arrived at the Lithuanian Armed Forces Depot Service in the northern city of Šiauliai via the Port of Hamburg in Germany.
The JLTVs are equipped with the Common Remotely Operated Weapon Station (CROWS), allowing the gunner to control the 12.7-millimeter machine gun from inside the vehicle.
It also has thermal imaging cameras and a laser rangefinder for more accurate machine gun fire.
“We will have become more mobile and harder for the potential enemy to bite into,” Lithuanian Minister of National Defence Arvydas Anušauskas stressed.
Apart from the CROWS, Oshkosh Defense is now integrating the Objective Gunner Protection Kit turrets onto the vehicles to prepare them for operational use.
Once in service, the new JLTVs will be deployed with Lithuania’s Rapid Response Force under the Iron Wolf and Griffin Brigades battalions.
Bolstering Tactical Vehicle Fleet
The delivery is part of a 2019 contract between Lithuania and the US to procure 200 tactical vehicles.
Vilnius later requested an additional 300 tactical vehicles.
An initial tranche of 50 JLTVs was delivered in 2021 and is now in service with the armed forces.
Deliveries of the remaining JLTVs are expected to be complete by the end of 2025.
In addition to tactical vehicles, Lithuania acquired Boxer infantry fighting vehicles and PZH 2000 self-propelled howitzers as part of its military modernization program.