28 April 2023

Lithuania plans to procure more Boxer vehicles

by Nicholas Fiorenza

The Lithuanian Ministry of National Defence plans to buy more than 120 additional Boxers, designated Vilkas in Lithuanian service. (Lithuanian Armed Forces)

The Lithuanian Ministry of National Defence (MND) revealed on its website on 24 April that it plans to buy more than 120 additional Boxers, designated Vilkas in Lithuanian service. It reported that negotiations began in 2022 and that it had consulted Rheinmetall-Krauss-Maffei Wegmann (KMW) consortium Artec and presented the required information to the Organisation for Joint Armament Cooperation (OCCAR).

The MND said the contract could be signed as soon as the fourth quarter (Q4) of 2023. When asked what Boxer variants would be procured and what the delivery schedule would be, a Lithuanian MND spokesperson told Janes on 27 April, “We are currently in the process of making an acquisition, adjusting the scope of the acquisition, and awaiting an offer from the manufacturer, so it is not possible to give an exact timing of the acquisition at the moment and neither is it possible to give the breakdown by number. We will be able to provide information about the planned delivery schedule only after the contract is signed.”

The spokesperson confirmed that the Boxers would replace M113 armoured personnel carriers (APCs), like the vehicles already being procured are. He noted that many Lithuanian M113s had been transferred to Ukraine.

He said the additional vehicles would equip three more yet-to-be identified battalions in the part of Lithuania “where there are no Boxers at the moment”.

The Lithuanian Ministry of National Defence (MND) revealed on its website on 24 April that it plans ...

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