“It was really honourable and noble to risk your life and family. Founders of the armed forces were forceful and decisive, bearing in mind that the Soviet army was operating in Lithuania and it did not shy away from using violence against our strife for freedom, besides, there were more Soviet repression structures in Lithuania as well. I thank those people, the comrades, who put national interest first and sacrificed themselves for Motherland Lithuania,” Chief of Defence of Lithuania Lt Gen Valdemaras Rupšys says.
The “green-bands” of the Liberation Movement times can be seen as the outset of national defence, or military, structures of the Republic of Lithuania, while the National Defence Department established by resolution of the Government of the Republic of Lithuania on 25 April 1990 is the official beginning of the re-establishment of the Lithuanian Armed Forces and the entire National Defence System. The most important mission of the National Defence Department was to shape and implement a national defence concept and to develop a national defence system.
Consolidation of the newly re-established independence of the state – organisation and building of national defence – was surrounded by complicated conditions of internal and external politics: not a single country in the world had officially recognised Lithuania’s independence by that time, the occupation army was still strong within the country, every process was under close KGB surveillance.
The National Defence Department and its units were formed very speedily. The Military-technical Sports Club for training Lithuanian citizens for national defence was established within the first year, without having the possibility to develop armed structures openly. Seven units of the Department were established across different regions of Lithuania, Protection Squad was formed. Intense preparations were ongoing to negotiate withdrawal of the occupation army with the Soviet Union. The Border Guard Service was established in the autumn of the same year and managed to take control of the state borders within an extremely short time. The Separate Protection Company and the Officer training Course were established and Karys Magazine was re-established late that year.
All the defensive structures that were developing at that moment – National Defence Department, volunteer force, Riflemen’s Union – had to join forces in January 1991 to protect independence of the state from open military aggression. The Voluntary National Defence Service (its contemporary successor is the National Defence Volunteer Force) was established on January 17. The Training Unit was established in February 1991 and reformed into the Rapid Response Brigade in November later that year. The National Defence Department was deemed to had accomplished its purpose and disbanded in autumn 1991. Development of the Armed Forces continued uninterrupted with the establishment of the Ministry of National Defence. The first draft into the Armed Forces of the independent Lithuania was held and consistent creation and strengthening of the National Defence System continued.
Intense work gained Lithuania NATO membership in 2004. Our country has been contributing to common Alliance goals and increasing combat readiness of our troops in international operations in Europe, Africa, Asia, Mediterranean and the Indian Ocean as a proven reliable ally for 26 years now.
Mutual trust and solidary cooperation of NATO allies in Lithuania is demonstrated by their integration into the National Defence System: deployment of the NATO enhanced Forward Presence Battalion Battle Group in Lithuania. Military presence of the Alliance is strengthened by a U.S. Battalion on the ground in Lithuania as well, while deployment of NATO forces is facilitated by the NATO Force Integration Unit. Furthermore, NATO Air Policing Mission has been protecting the Baltic airspace since our NATO accession, and the NATO Energy Security Centre of Excellence was opened in Lithuania.
It is crucial for Lithuania as a NATO borderline country to respect its commitments and achieve objectives on time and in the planned scope. Lithuania is developing bilateral and multilateral cooperation and capability building projects with its strategic allies, taking part in various international projects, implementing projects in the Baltic format, etc.
Our current goal is an up-to-date, technologically advanced military. The Lithuanian Land Force has grown to the size of two brigades over the three decades, capabilities of the Lithuanian Air Force Air Surveillance and Defence capabilities have become significantly stronger, the Naval Flotilla has gained more power, a new service, the Special Operations Forces, was born, the number of career soldiers has become bigger, and draft has been reintroduced. The steady increase in defence spending was one of the factor that allowed the said achievements to happen. In 2019 Lithuania’s Defence Budget amounted to 2% of GDP for the first time: the trend continues and parliamentary political parties of Lithuania made a commitment to take the financing up to 2.5% of GDP by 2030.
The grown defence financing has enabled critical and bold steps in increasing the strength and modernness of the Lithuanian Armed Forces. Upgrading and personnel provision currently gets nearly 30% of the defence budget. Significant need for investment had amassed because, unfortunately, Lithuania’s defence financing was among the lowest among NATO allies for a long time. At least a decade will still be required to upgrade the most important defence capabilities, however, the progress will be seen clearly every year. The largest project in the Lithuanian Armed Forces since the re-establishment of independent Lithuania is currently underway: Vilkas/Boxer Infantry Fighting Vehicles are bougth, modern self-propelled artillery systems are introduced, procurements of Joint Light Tactical Vehicles and other necessities are conducted, air surveillance and air defence capabilities are increased, individual equipment and weaponry is updated. The Defence Materiel Agency under the Ministry of National Defence was established in 2018 in order to ensure that the defence budget is used in an efficient and transparent way.
At the same time, significant attention is paid to the strengthening of readiness of Lithuanian Armed Forces units by manning personnel organisation, providing gear, and ensuring combat training.
Upgrade and development of military infrastructure is also a focal point: it is vital not only for our Armed Forces which is growing in personnel numbers and equipment, but also for allied forces deployed in Lithuania. New military facilities with all conditions for convenient service and accommodation of military personnel will be built in Šiauliai and Vilnius and Šilalė regions in the coming year. Best practices show that establishment of military facilities tend to give a positive impulse to economic development in the area. It will also make it possible for young people of conscription age in those regions to undergo the mandatory military service closer to home.
One of the most recently obtained areas of responsibility of the Ministry of National Defence is cybersecurity. The National Cyber Security Centre has been in charge of coordination of state information resources and cybersecurity, and strengthening public resilience to cyber threats since 2015.
The National Defence System comprises 23 thousand currently serving and working civilian employees, soldiers and volunteer soldiers under the leadership of the 7th Minister of National Defence and the 6th Chief of Defence of Lithuania.
The trust of the Lithuanian society and foreign partners in the National Defence System is at the all-time high. It is up-to-date, concerted, and able to ensure both, effective national defence and reliable assistance to other institutions of the country at the time of crisis or emergency. All of that has been achieved through unified action of the National Defence System and NATO, strategic allies, Riflemen’s Union, other NGOs, and the whole civil society.