Lithuania discuss with Belgium and UK to adapt JLTV armored to EU standards.

On March 13-15 Vice Minister of National Defence of Lithuania Giedrimas Jeglinskas observed tests of the Joint Light Tactical Vehicle (JLTV) in Bedford while on visit in the United Kingdom. Vice Minister also met with representatives of the UK Ministry of Defence and the Belgian Defense Directorate General for Material Resources and discussed challenges of adapting the JLTV for national needs and EU standards.

Oshkosh L-ATV, the winner of the JLTV program for US Army and Marines Corps (Picture source Army Recognition)

During the testing event Vice Minister G. Jeglinskas met with representatives of the JLTV program Working Group of the US Department of Defence and addressed challenges of integrating weaponry systems into the JLTV and possible solutions.

Vice Minister G. Jeglinskas proceeded to meet with his colleague Guto Bebb, Minister for Defence Procurement and Member of the Parliament of the United Kingdom and discussed aspects of the JLTV procurement carried out the by the UK, the progress on the IFV Vilkas (Boxer) project, and technological potential of enterprises of Lithuania’s defence industry and opportunities in the United Kingdom. The meeting officials also talked about the potential of bilateral cooperation of both countries’ navies in procurement.

The meeting was also attended by Deputy Head of the Diplomatic Representation Jonas Grinevičius at the Embassy of the Republic of Lithuania to the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Norther Ireland.

In November 2017 decision of the Defence Material Agency under the Ministry of National Defence was approved on contacting the US Government about the possibility of buying armoured Light Combat Tactical All-terrain Vehicles (L-ATV) manufactured by Oshkosh Defence.

A total of 200 Light Combat Tactical All-terrain Vehicles is planned to be procured for armed forces of Lithuania. The Oshkosh L-ATV light combat tactical all-terrain vehicle is the winner of the US military's Army-led Joint Light Tactical Vehicle (JLTV) program. 

When the project was launched by Lithuania, first , information on the ATVs of the relevant type on the market was collected. Then, 9 models were selected according to such criteria as efficiency, compatibility, maintenance, etc. They were tested for capacity and functionality in practice and additional technical information was collected. When all the data was evaluated, it was decided that the U.S.-made L-ATV matched the criteria best.