Armed Forces
Lithuania will receive Grom MANPADS this week
Lithuanian Minister of Defence, Juozas Olekasm stated that he expects the Polish Grom MANPADS to be delivered soon. We expect the missiles to be delivered to Lithuania this year, plausibly by the end of this week – as he stated after the meeting, at which defence-related expenditures have been discussed.
The Agreement related to procurement of the Grom MANPADS for the Lithuanian Armed Forces has been signed during this year’s Kielce defence fair, on 2nd September. The weapon system is being manufactured by the Polish Mesko company. Total value of the deal is as much as EUR 34 million. Besides the weapon system itself, Lithuanian soldiers will also receive all the auxiliary equipment and training devices needed, along with a training programme within the scope of operation of the Grom system.
Until the end of this year Lithuanian are to receive the first batch of the Polish Grom MANPADS, which is valued at EUR 4 million. It is the batch that has been mentioned by the Lithuanian Minister of Defence in his statement. The deliveries are scheduled to be realized within the full scope until the year 2021. Despite the fact that Lithuanian Armed Forces have not yet received the Grom launchers, the soldiers have already taken part in training programme, which has been carried out in Poland, since November this year.
Grom System is the third type of MANPADS used by the Lithuanian Army, along with the US-made FIM-92 Stingers and Swedish RBS 70’s. Introducing Grom into inventory of the armed forces of Lithuania is to increase the level of protection of the Lithuanian Army against air attacks and aerial reconnaissance. Earlier on Grom MANPADS had been exported to Georgia, Indonesia and Japan.