Nausėda says CV90 and Patria purchases remain on schedule

Lithuania’s acquisitions of CV90 infantry fighting vehicles and Patria armoured vehicles are progressing according to plan, President Gitanas Nausėda said on Wednesday, LRT reported.

Speaking after a meeting of the State Defence Council, Nausėda said contracts for the two key elements of Lithuania’s national division were expected to be signed by the end of the year or, at the latest, during the first quarter of next year.

He said the CV90 purchase depended not only on Lithuania because several countries are participating in the project. Lithuania plans to acquire 70 CV90 vehicles by 2030 and a further 30 later.

Lithuania plans to purchase 936 Patria armoured vehicles. Nausėda said his visit to Finland had confirmed that Lithuania could manufacture at least 30% of its allocated vehicles domestically. Production could begin in around 18 months to two years, he said.

Both private and state-owned companies in Lithuania could assemble the vehicles, and Lithuania hopes to select one of them together with Patria.

Lithuania is the largest buyer of the vehicles, planning to acquire 300 by 2030 and the remaining vehicles by 2034. Nausėda said the vehicles could be used for combat operations, logistics and medical evacuation. He also noted that Patria models are being used in the war in Ukraine.

BNS reported that Lithuania plans to acquire 100 Swedish-made CV90 infantry fighting vehicles together with five other NATO countries. The State Defence Council approved the plan late last year and called for particular attention to the production of equipment components and CV90 maintenance in Lithuania.

In late May, the council decided that Lithuania would purchase Patria vehicles. Army Commander General Raimundas Vaikšnoras has said they should replace the outdated tracked M113 armoured vehicles.

Nausėda also acknowledged that an agreement with Ukraine on drone production was stalled and proposed manufacturing the drones in Lithuania. He said the delay was partly linked to Ukrainian licensing procedures and export licences, but that Lithuania also bore responsibility.

According to the president, Ukraine wants Lithuania first to approve the companies capable of producing the drones and determine the required quantities. He said Lithuania could use part of its annual aid to Ukraine, equivalent to 0.25% of gross domestic product, to manufacture drones in Lithuania together with Ukrainian partners and provide them as aid to Kyiv.