Vilnius has signed a contract to procure additional Mercedes-Benz Unimog U5000 multi-purpose off-road trucks for the Lithuanian Armed Forces.
The 47-million-euro ($52.5-million) order stipulates 51 vehicles that will support the military’s special missions, personnel transportation, logistics, and medical evacuation.
The deal was signed in partnership with the NATO Support and Procurement Agency to apply a military sale strategy that will cut down costs for such a large-scale acquisition.
They will be sourced from Mercedes-Benz’s German heavy mobility systems subsidiary Daimler Trucks AG.
Once delivered, the new trucks will join about 500 of Lithuania’s operational Unimog U5000s. The Baltic government expects the vehicles to arrive later this year.
“The Daimler Trucks AG-manufactured vehicles are procured as modernization of the Lithuanian Armed Forces continues and equipment fleet is updated,” the Lithuanian Ministry of Defence announced.
Utility Truck Expansion in Lithuania
Lithuania’s military truck expansion in cooperation with NATO was initiated in 2015 as part of the country’s effort to update its fleet. This saw an initial production of 88 Unimog U5000s.
The project’s follow-on contracts delivered a total of 110 systems in 2019 and another 142 in 2020.
Between 2021 and 2023, Vilnius accepted about 70 more platforms under the initiative. During this period, the government purchased other types of utility trucks from Mercedes-Benz to complement the Unimogs, including the Arocs and Zetros systems.
The Unimog U5000
The Mercedes-Benz Unimog U5000 is a 4×4 platform weighing up to 14 tons depending on its configuration.
It is powered by an eight-speed transmission and Euro 4/5 engine with 218 horsepower for more than 100 kilometers (62 miles) per hour and an off-road traction capability in the lower speed range of 15 kilometers (9 miles) per hour.
The 6-meter (20-foot) vehicle has a fuel capacity of 180 liters (48 gallons) and a payload limit of 8 tons (7,500 kilograms).
“These durable trucks have a good cross-country capacity and are used on both paved and unpaved roads,” Lithuanian Armed Forces Depot Storage Service Commander Lt. Col. Aurius Daškevičius explained during a previous Unimog acquisition.
“They cross without significant trouble water obstacles up to 1200 mm, and off-road areas. These are really useful qualities in exercises, for transporting various logistical equipment to exercise sites that are hard to access.”