Lithuanian Navy. What is it, the army of Lithuania? The main enemy is determined

The Republic of Lithuania spends about 0.8 percent of GDP on defense (in 2012, almost $344 million). The country's army, one might say, is weak and poorly equipped, and it has no opportunities to mobilize larger forces. basis ground forces is only one brigade of infantry. The armed forces of Lithuania cannot defend the country on their own, without the help of the North Atlantic Alliance. But in Lithuania there are volunteer formations ready to remember the partisan experience if the enemy suddenly attacks.

The Lithuanian Armed Forces consist of ground forces, naval forces, air force and troops special operations. They trace their history back to the Lithuanian army - the army of the Republic of Lithuania in 1918-1940. Shortly after the surrender of Germany in the First World War on November 23, 1918, the authorities of the newly created Republic of Lithuania issued an act on the formation of the army. This day is celebrated as the Day of Lithuanian Warriors.

Three wars in two years

On December 20, 1918, the chairman of the Council of Lithuania, Antanas Smetona, and the Prime Minister of Lithuania, Augustinas Voldemaras, arrived in Germany to receive assistance in the formation of the armed forces. Until the end of the year, Germany paid Lithuania 100 million marks in reparations, which were used to purchase weapons for the army. Basically, it was the weapons left by the German troops in Lithuania. At the end of December 1918, the new Lithuanian government, headed by Mykolas Slezheviches, issued an appeal calling for voluntarily joining the army to defend the homeland. Volunteers were promised to be given land. In parallel, Germany began to form volunteer units in the Baltics. Parts of the 1st German Volunteer Division arrived in Lithuania from Germany in January 1919. All German units, including volunteers, left Lithuania in July 1919.

On March 5, 1919, mobilization into the Lithuanian army was announced. Its number by the end of the summer reached eight thousand. Lithuanians had to fight against the Red Army, which invaded Lithuania from the east. January 5, 1919 Soviet troops occupied Vilnius, and on January 15 - Siauliai. Lithuanian troops with the help of the German volunteer corps (10 thousand people) stopped the Red Army at Kedainaya. On February 10, the combined German-Lithuanian troops defeated the Soviets at Sheta near Kaunas and forced them to retreat. The Germans fought in Lithuania until the end of May 1919, as the German government was concerned about the advance of the Red Army to the borders East Prussia. On April 19, Polish troops drove the troops of the Lithuanian-Belarusian Soviet Republic. By the beginning of October 1919, the Lithuanian army ousted the Red Army from the territory of Lithuania. In July - December, the Lithuanians fought against the White Guard Western Russian Army of General Pavel Bermondt-Avalov, which also included German volunteer detachments, and inflicted a defeat on Radvilishkis in November, and on December 15 they ousted the Western Army from the territory of Lithuania.

On July 12, 1920, a peace treaty was signed between Lithuania and Soviet Russia, according to which Moscow recognized Lithuania's right to Vilnius. This city, occupied in June by the Red Army, after the defeat of the latter near Warsaw, was transferred to the control of the Lithuanian troops at the end of August. In September, fighting began between Polish and Lithuanian troops. On October 7, an armistice agreement was reached in Suwalki through the mediation of the Entente. However, the Lithuanian-Belarusian division Polish army under the command of General Lucian Zheligovsky, allegedly out of obedience to the Polish government, broke the resistance of the Lithuanian troops and on October 8 took Vilnius, which in 1923 was annexed to Poland. fighting between the Polish and Lithuanian troops were terminated at the end of November 1920.

The events of 1918-1920 in Lithuania are called the War of Independence, which actually breaks up into three wars: the Lithuanian-Soviet, Lithuanian-Polish and the war against the Western army. Since May 7, 1919, the commander-in-chief of the Lithuanian army was General Silvestras Zhukauskas (Sylvester Zhukovsky), a former major general of the Russian army (before being appointed commander-in-chief, he was the chief of the General Staff of the Lithuanian army). During the War of Independence, the Lithuanian army lost 1444 killed, over 2600 wounded and over 800 missing.

After the accession of Lithuania to Soviet Union in August 1940, the Lithuanian army was reorganized into the 29th territorial rifle corps of the Red Army. The only training ship of the Lithuanian Navy "President Smetona", bought in 1926 from Germany, was transferred to the Soviet Baltic Fleet, where, renamed "Pirmunas" ("Excellent"), then included in the maritime border guard of the NKVD under the name "Coral", and with the beginning of the Great Patriotic War became part of the Baltic Fleet and was used as a patrol ship and minesweeper. On January 11, 1945, by that time renamed the minesweeper T-33, it was sunk by a German submarine or hit a mine off the island of Aegna. Lithuanian military aviation, which by the summer of 1940 had several dozen vehicles (mainly training and reconnaissance obsolete designs), was abolished. Nine ANBO-41s, three ANBO-51s, and one Gladiator I were transferred to service with the 29th Corps as part of the 29th Corps Aviation Squadron.

On the eve of the Great Patriotic War, almost all Lithuanian officers of the 29th Corps were arrested. With the outbreak of war, out of 16,000 Lithuanians who served in the corps, 14,000 either deserted or, with weapons in their hands, having killed the commanders and commissars of non-Lithuanians, revolted against Soviet power.

The main enemy is determined

The Lithuanian Army was recreated with the restoration of Lithuanian independence in March 1990 and the formation of the Department of National Defense and the first training unit of the armed forces. However, practical measures to create an army followed only after the actual collapse of the USSR in August 1991 and the recognition of the independence of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia by the allied authorities and the government Russian Federation in September. On October 10, 1991, the first Minister of Regional Protection, Audrius Butkevičius, who previously headed the Department of Regional Protection, was appointed. On December 30, 1991, the first Lithuanian military ranks were awarded.

On January 2, 1992, the Ministry of Regional Protection began its activities and the Lithuanian military aviation was recreated. At the same time, the first call for active military service was announced. On September 1, 1992, the School for the Protection of the Territory was opened in Vilnius. Lithuanian army officers are also trained in the US, Germany, Poland, other NATO countries and Sweden. On November 1, the flotilla of the Lithuanian Naval Forces was created.

On November 19, 1992, the Supreme Council - the Restorative Seimas proclaimed the re-establishment of the Army of the Republic of Lithuania. Continuing the traditions of the army of the interwar period, many battalions of the modern Lithuanian army were given the names of regiments of the 1920s and 1930s and their symbols. The divisions of the volunteer forces received the names of the partisan districts into which the Lithuanian partisans who fought against the Soviet regime in 1944-1957 were divided.

The Supreme Commander is the President of Lithuania. The operational management of the armed forces is carried out by the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces - a professional military man, whose working body is the Joint Staff. The Ministry of Defense (Ministry of Defense of the Territory) carries out the financing and supply of the armed forces.

On March 29, 2004, Lithuania joined NATO. Its armed forces are integrated with the armed forces of other countries of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. The military doctrine of Lithuania was adopted on March 10, 2010. It provides for the conduct of military and peacekeeping operations in cooperation with other NATO members and within the framework of missions undertaken by the North Atlantic Alliance. In the event of a situation of collective defense, the Lithuanian armed forces are transferred under the command of NATO. As the only threat to the security of Lithuania, the doctrine considers “unstable states whose documents related to defense and security policy provide for, and military force allows to carry out actions of a military nature, directly or indirectly directed against Lithuania or its allies.” This definition refers primarily to Russia, although no Lithuanian documents directly mention this and our country is not named. In the case of external aggression, it is assumed that "the independent defense of the country and its collective defense together with the allies."

On September 15, 2008, the conscription for urgent military service was cancelled. The last conscripts were transferred to the reserve on July 1, 2009. Since 2009, the recruitment of the armed forces has been carried out exclusively by contract volunteers.

There are 10,640 people in the Lithuanian Armed Forces, including 8,200 in the ground forces, 600 in the navy, 1,200 in aviation, 1,804 in headquarters and services common to all armed forces. 4,600 people are reservists of the ground forces who are in reserve, united in the Volunteer troops for the protection of the region. The male population aged 16 to 49 years, there were 890 thousand people in 2010, of which the number of fit for military service estimated at 669 thousand. Every year, 20,425 men reach the age of 18, at which military service can begin.

Lithuania's military spending is 0.79 percent of GDP. In 2012, they can be valued at $343.65 million at the official exchange rate and at $511.9 billion at purchasing power parity. The lack of financial resources affects the level of equipment of the army with weapons and military equipment and the training of military personnel.

Ground troops

There are 8,200 people, including 3,600 professionals, and 4,600 active reservists from the Volunteer Guards of the Territory. Professionals are divided into one Iron Wolf brigade (three mechanized infantry battalions and one artillery battalion), three separate motorized infantry battalions, one engineer battalion and one training center.

The ground forces are armed with 10 BRDM-2 armored vehicles supplied by Poland, about 200 American M113A1 and M113A2 armored personnel carriers and Swedish BV 206 A MT armored personnel carriers.

Artillery is represented by 72 105-mm M101 American howitzers provided by Denmark, and 61 120-mm M-43 mortars supplied by Poland.

Anti-tank weapons - 10 American FGM-148 Javelin ATGMs mounted on HMMWV wheeled all-terrain vehicles. There is also a number of FGM-148 Javelin anti-tank systems and 84-mm Swedish anti-tank grenade launchers Carl Gustav.

The air defense systems of the ground forces are represented by the American FIM-92 Stinger MANPADS, 10 of which are installed on MTLB armored personnel carriers, and eight on American M113 armored personnel carriers. There are also a number of "Stingers" in a portable version.

4,600 active reservists from the Volunteer Guards of the Territory are united in six regiments and 36 territorial defense battalions.

The Special Operations Forces consist of one Special Operations Group, which includes the Service (Group) special purpose, one Jaeger battalion and a service (group) of combat divers.

Naval Forces

There are about 600 people. Together with the Latvian and Estonian navies, they form the Baltron Joint Force based in Liepaja, Riga, Ventspils, Tallinn and Klaipeda. The headquarters of the joint forces is located in Tallinn. The Lithuanian Navy consists of a division patrol ships, a division of anti-mine ships and a division of auxiliary vessels.

The fleet has three Danish Standard Flex 300 patrol boats armed with one 76mm cannon and one Norwegian Storm patrol boat with Penguin anti-ship missiles, one 76mm and one 40mm Bofors cannon.

There are also two German minesweepers of the Lindau type (type 331), two British Skulvis minesweepers (of the Hunt type), one Norwegian minelayer of the Vidar type (also used as a control ship).

The Lithuanian Navy is focused primarily on combating the mine threat. There are four auxiliary port vessels of Soviet and Danish production.

Air Force

There are 980 military personnel and 190 civilian personnel. They consist of one air defense battalion. The Air Force is armed with three C-27J Spartan transport aircraft, two L-410 Turbolet transport aircraft and two L-39ZA combat training aircraft. All aircraft of Czechoslovak production. The helicopter fleet consists of nine Mi-8s. There are several Swedish-made RBS-70 MANPADS. Lithuanian pilots have a fairly decent flying time - 120 hours a year.

Commands serving the needs of all armed forces

The Joint Supply Command has 1,070 personnel. It consists of one supply battalion. The Joint Training and Documentation Command has 734 personnel, consists of one training regiment.

Paramilitaries of other departments

The Lithuanian Shooting Union is public organization engaged in preparing young people for military service. It has 9600 people.

The Border Guard of the Ministry of the Interior has 5,000 men. The Coast Guard Service - 540 people, has three Finnish and Swedish-made patrol boats and one British-made Griffon 2000 amphibian.

Lithuanian troops outside the country and foreign allied forces on the territory of Lithuania

There are 236 Lithuanian military personnel in Afghanistan international forces to maintain ISAF security. In the zone of the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict, within the framework of the OSCE mission, there is one Lithuanian military observer. In Iraq, within the framework of the NATO mission, there are 12 Lithuanian servicemen.

Four F-16 fighter jets from Germany, Holland, Denmark and other NATO countries patrol Lithuanian airspace on a permanent basis as part of the NATO airspace protection program for the Baltic States. In the event of a sudden Russian invasion of Lithuania, other Baltic countries and Poland (although Russia is not directly named in the document, it is obvious that it is about her, and not about any aliens), NATO developed a defense plan in early 2010 Eagle Guardian (“Eagle-Defender”), which provides for the transfer to these countries during a threatened period or immediately after the start of aggression of nine divisions of the armies of the United States, Germany, Great Britain and Poland with appropriate air support to the territory of the Baltic states and Poland and sending alliance warships to ports of Poland, Germany and the Baltic countries.

In general, the Lithuanian army is not inferior in combat capability to the armies of other Eastern European countries - NATO members, has the ability to fully ground forces take part in peacekeeping operations alliance and others international structures. At the same time, the Air Force and the Navy are unable to solve the tasks of protecting the Lithuanian territory, and in this respect, Lithuania relies entirely on the help of NATO allies. In the event of an attack by Russia, it is assumed that the Lithuanian army will be able to successfully defend itself for at least a week, before the arrival of reinforcements from other countries of the North Atlantic Alliance, but subject to the provision of air support from the first day of fighting. At the same time, the main hopes are for the Volunteer Guards of the Territory, ready for partisan actions in the event of enemy occupation.

Shooting and anti-tank weapons the Lithuanian army actually meets the given criterion - the soldiers have automatic rifles M-14 and M-16, pistols "Colt" and "Glock" and even anti-tank missile system Javelin. But the vehicles of the Lithuanian Armed Forces on the ground are not so good, since for the most part they are outdated Soviet-made BTR-60, BRDM-2, MT-LB.

Of all the types and types of troops, the country's naval forces (Navy) are the weakest. Although the republic has strong maritime traditions, but the core combat strength Lithuanian Navy - two British-made Hunt-class minesweepers and several Norwegian (Storm-class) and Danish (Fluvefisken-class) patrol boats. However, none of the ships has missile weapons, although the advanced complex of guided missile weapons on board is the main trend of the naval forces in the 21st century.

Against the background of the Baltic Fleet of Russia, this mosquito squadron looks extremely small, however, the main trouble is not in the number of Lithuanian minesweepers and patrol boats (there are only 12 of them), but in their quality.

Consider combat capabilities Lithuanian warships.

British minesweeper Hunt

Ships of this type began to be built in 1980.

The base minesweeper with a displacement of 615 tons, a length of 60 meters and a width of 10 meters has a fiberglass hull, a two-shaft power plant (two diesel engines with a total capacity of 3800 Horse power) and a speed of about 35 kilometers per hour. Crew - 45 people. For more complete characteristics do not avoid numbers and naval terms.

The main armament of the minesweeper: one Bofors anti-aircraft gun mount of 40 mm caliber (during the Second World War) and two artillery mounts caliber 20 mm.

The Hunt electronic weapons include a navigation radar station, the Matilda UAR-1 electronic warfare system, a mine-search sonar station of the 193M type, and a second sonar station - warnings about the mine danger "Mil Cross".

To search for mines on the minesweeper there is a team of scuba miners and two autonomous underwater vehicles to neutralize French-made mines of the late 1980s.

It seems that the main task of the Lithuanian sailors in combat conditions is to practically manually clear the Baltic channel from mines for other NATO members, who will come later to the rescue of Lithuania.

Storm patrol boat

Such ships began to be built 55 years ago. For example, the Lithuanian boat P33 Skalvis (aka the Norwegian Steil P969) was built in 1967; he worked hard in his native Norwegian Navy and was withdrawn from service in 2000. Shortly after decommissioning, the Norwegians sold it to a Baltic ally. Note that this is not the oldest Storm type boat in Lithuania.

The displacement of the boat is 100 tons, the length is 36 meters and the width is 6 meters. Two diesel engines with a total capacity of 6000 horsepower provide a speed of up to 60 kilometers per hour. Crew - 19 people.

These relatively small boats, which were part of the Norwegian Navy, were armed with Penguin Mk1 anti-ship missiles (ASMs). Unlike other anti-ship missiles, the Penguins were equipped with an infrared rather than a radar guidance system, flew a maximum of 20 kilometers and rarely hit the target.

Boats were sold to Lithuania without missile weapons. And this is understandable, because the task of Storm is to apply missile attack on enemy ships, followed by "flight" to the Norwegian fjords. There are no fjords in the Baltic, so there is no need to anger the enemy once again.

Storm left only the old 76mm gun mount and the Bofors 40mm anti-aircraft gun. Hydroacoustic station and anti-submarine weapons on such boats were absent initially.

For understanding overall picture: by 2000, all 19 Storm boats were withdrawn from the Norwegian Navy, and seven of them (after the dismantling of missile weapons) were transferred to Latvia (3 units), Lithuania (3) and Estonia (1). With the Danish boats "Fluvefisken" - about the same story.

Worn-out armament "from the lord's shoulder" reflects the attitude of Brussels towards the Baltic allies. In turn, the authorities of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia continue to pretend that everything is going according to plan, “military” money is spent prudently and “Russian aggression”, including from the sea, will be reflected. “Three wise men in one basin set sail in a thunderstorm” ...

From the very beginning of its independence, since 1991, Lithuania has taken a course towards Western structures, both economic and defense, and has overcome the path to them rather quickly. There are several reasons for this, including a relatively small population, a convenient strategic position, and certain traditions. Now the technology of European integration of this country to some extent serves as a model for the current leadership of Ukraine, which has set the task of transferring its armed forces to NATO standards. Lithuanian experience in this matter is invaluable, although it is unlikely that Kyiv will be able to copy it directly. To begin with, you need to develop military doctrine and compare it with the goals of the army of this Baltic country. This process will be of interest not only to Ukrainians.

Tasks of the Lithuanian Armed Forces

The task of the Lithuanian army in the event of an enemy attack (meaning Russia, who else?) was formulated by the representative of the Department of Strategic Communications, Lieutenant-Colonel Arturas Jasinskasov in the fall of 2013. It is quite simple - if a war starts, then you need to somehow hold out for a month, conducting "asymmetric" actions, and then the NATO bloc will come into play and help, and most likely, free you. It is difficult to say how realistic it is to achieve such a result in a hypothetical situation described by a high-ranking officer. North Atlantic analysts suggest that it would take the Russian Armed Forces only three days to completely occupy not only Latvia, but also Lithuania and Estonia at the same time. It is possible that "asymmetry" refers to guerrilla-sabotage operations, which, as you know, cause damage to very strong armies, but nothing is said about this in the policy statement. On the contrary, the emphasis is on the classic military organizational structure, with ground units, artillery, air force and navy.

Ground troops

In 2011, the Lithuanian defense budget allocated $360 million, that is, about a million dollars a day. There are approximately 10,640 military personnel in the country, and another 6,700 trained specialists with experience in the reserve army service, including those received in Soviet army, this is 14,600 soldiers and officers. Of the total number of peacetime personnel, the ground units number 8,200 servicemen, organizationally divided into two motorized, two mechanized and one engineering battalions. The equipment is mixed, partly old Soviet (BRDM-2), but mostly American (M113A1), in total 187 units of light armored vehicles. The Lithuanian army also has artillery, these are 120-mm mortars (61 pcs.), German guns Carl Gustaf (100 pcs.), 18 anti-aircraft guns, as well as wearable anti-tank and anti-aircraft systems.

air force

Aviators in Lithuania are 980 soldiers and officers serving at three air force bases in five squadrons. At the same time, there are only sixteen units of flying equipment. This is not much, but the Ukrainian troops, for example, should not be particularly concerned, since after the failures over the Donbass, Kyiv has not much left if more, then not much. There are practically no fighters, attack aircraft and bombers in the Lithuanian Air Force, except for the combat training Czech L-39ZA, capable of delivering strikes in the event of absolute air supremacy. There are also transporters L-410 (small-sized, 2 units) and C-27J (3 units), as well as Mi-8 helicopters (9 units). That's the whole air power of Lithuania.

Fleet

530 sailors serve in the Lithuanian Navy. They make up the shore personnel, the crews of one small anti-submarine ship Project 1124M of Soviet construction, three Fluvefisken-class patrol boats (Aukshaitis, Dzukas and Zemaitis), three Storm-type patrol boats (Skalvis, M-53 and M-54), as well as a command ship, also called "Scalvis". There is also a tug, a hydrographic ship and three more small boats, border (H-21-H23). The composition of the Lithuanian fleet is currently commensurate with the Ukrainian one. The Coast Guard has 540 sailors.

Mobilization potential and equipment in peacetime

In the event of a war, fit for health reasons men from 16 to 49 years old are subject to mobilization, there are more than 910 thousand of them in the country (in 2011), and about the same number of women of the same age. AT Peaceful time The staffing of the armed forces is carried out according to a mixed contract-conscription principle. At the same time, the number of people willing to serve voluntarily in recent times decreased significantly, and out of 23.5 thousand people reaching military age (in the range of 19-26 years), only two-thirds remain in the country, the rest leave to work in Europe. In connection with this circumstance, Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaite resumed conscription into the army, which had not previously been practiced.

combat training

For 9 months, it is difficult, if not impossible, to train a highly professional military man, but given the not very high saturation of equipment, it should be assumed that the bulk of the recruits go to motorized rifle units. This summer, exercises with the loud name "Fire Salvo - 2016" are planned, in which self-propelled units battalion. Romualdas Gidraitis under the command of Lieutenant General Aushryus Buikus. There are four such cars in Lithuania, and the Germans will bring the same number for such an occasion, arrival is expected in May. For the first time in many years, these maneuvers will be held with the involvement of conscripts. Firing involves working out the suppression of batteries of a mock enemy at distances up to 40 km. German equipment is being given, as it were, for testing, and based on the results of the exercises, a decision will be made on the purchase of another 16 units of self-propelled artillery mounts that were in use in the Bundeswehr. This is where a very interesting pattern begins to emerge.

How to spend the defense budget of Lithuania?

Lithuania spends on defense significantly less than two percent of the state budget accepted by NATO. In this, she is not alone, many states of the Alliance ignore this requirement, which upsets the leadership of the main members, and part-time sponsors of this organization. Therefore, Vilnius is constantly encouraged to acquire at least some samples, not new ones, but crushing in a NATO way (as today's owners of old weapons assure). In particular, out of 16 Bundeswehr installations, three will have to be immediately dismantled for spare parts in order to repair the rest, which, of course, will scare away all aggressors, and especially Russian ones. Among the enviable and urgently needed acquisitions are also those made in different time(mainly in the 60s) command and staff vehicles M577 (26 units), armored recovery vehicles BPz-2 (6 units) and other time-tested units military equipment who have served their term in "first-rate" armies and now have a 100% chance of serving the cause of democracy at the forefront of defense.

Not funny

The Lithuanian army could serve as a topic for jokes of its closest neighbors, but humor towards it is extremely rare. The Germans, the Dutch or the French keep their faces serious, because they do not want to betray their true intentions and goals. They need to sell as much obsolete equipment as possible, so they do not interfere in the organization, general purpose and other internal affairs of Lithuania. Does the general hold the position of battalion commander? So what, you know better. Salag call for nine months? It's probably better for you. The Russian military also has no reason to laugh at the Lithuanians. The more junk they buy, the calmer it will be on the western border. Ukrainians also bought Saxon armored vehicles in Britain ...

The small arms and anti-tank armament of the Lithuanian army actually meets the given criterion - the soldiers have M-14 and M-16 automatic rifles, Colt and Glock pistols, and even the Javelin anti-tank missile system. But the vehicles of the Lithuanian Armed Forces on the ground are not so good, since for the most part they are outdated Soviet-made BTR-60, BRDM-2, MT-LB.

Of all the types and types of troops, the country's naval forces (Navy) are the weakest. Although the republic has strong maritime traditions, the core of the Lithuanian Navy is two British-made Hunt minesweepers and several Norwegian (Storm type) and Danish (Fluvefisken type) patrol boats. At the same time, none of the ships has missile weapons, although a developed complex of guided missile weapons on board is the main trend of the naval forces in the 21st century.

Consider the combat capabilities of the Lithuanian warships.

British minesweeper Hunt

Ships of this type began to be built in 1980.

The base minesweeper with a displacement of 615 tons, a length of 60 meters and a width of 10 meters has a fiberglass hull, a two-shaft power plant (two diesel engines with a total capacity of 3800 horsepower) and a speed of about 35 kilometers per hour. Crew - 45 people. For a more complete characterization, numbers and naval terms cannot be avoided.

The main armament of the minesweeper: one Bofors anti-aircraft gun mount of 40 mm caliber (during the Second World War) and two artillery mounts of 20 mm caliber.

The Hunt electronic armament includes a navigation radar station, the Matilda UAR-1 electronic warfare system, a 193M type mine-search sonar station, and a second sonar station - mine warning "Mil Cross".

To search for mines on the minesweeper there is a team of scuba divers-miners and two autonomous underwater vehicles to neutralize French-made mines of the late 1980s are placed on the minesweeper.

One gets the impression that the main task of the Lithuanian military sailors in combat conditions is to practically manually clear the Baltic fairway from mines for other NATO members, who will come later to the rescue of Lithuania.

Storm patrol boat

Boats were sold to Lithuania without missile weapons. And this is understandable, because the task of Storm is to launch a missile attack on enemy ships, followed by "flight" to the Norwegian fjords. There are no fjords in the Baltic, so there is no need to anger the enemy once again.

Storm left only the old 76mm gun mount and the Bofors 40mm anti-aircraft gun. The hydroacoustic station and anti-submarine weapons on such boats were absent initially.

To understand the big picture: by 2000, all 19 Storm boats were withdrawn from the Norwegian Navy, and seven of them (after the dismantling of missile weapons) were transferred to Latvia (3 units), Lithuania (3) and Estonia (1). With the Danish boats "Fluvefisken" - about the same story.

Worn-out armament "from the lord's shoulder" reflects the attitude of Brussels towards the Baltic allies. In turn, the authorities of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia continue to pretend that everything is going according to plan, that "military" money is spent prudently and "Russian aggression", including from the sea, will be repelled. "Three wise men in one basin set sail in a thunderstorm" ...

Editorial opinion may not reflect the views of the author.