Lithuania Conducted Live-Fire Tank Exercise for the First Time Since the 1930s Using Leopard 2A6s

On October 16, the Lithuanian military conducted live-fire exercises with German Leopard 2A6 tanks on Lithuanian soil for the first time.

The exercises took place at General Silvestras Žukauskas Training Area in Pabradė, according to LRT.

According to Brigadier General Nerijus Stenkavičius, commander of the Lithuanian Army, the firing marked the actual start of operations for the tank battalion currently being formed in the country.

“This is the first step on a long journey, the first such milestone when we can truly say: from this moment on, the life of our tank battalion begins,” he stated.

Four Lithuanian tank crews took part in the exercises. They practiced maneuvers and fired at targets.

“These are the first combat steps for the Lithuanian tank unit. Not administrative tasks, not some classroom exercises, but actual live-fire exercises at the training range, directly in field conditions,” Stenkявиčius emphasized.

The formation of the tank battalion began in 2024 in cooperation with the German Army’s 93rd Tank Battalion. The unit will become part of the Lithuanian Army’s First Division and will help transform the Iron Wolf Infantry Brigade into a heavy brigade.

Lithuania plans to equip the battalion with 44 Leopard 2A8 main battle tanks. The first vehicles are expected to arrive in the country in the second half of 2028.

By that time, the Lithuanian military must have trained the crews. According to Stenkavičius, about half of the future battalion’s authorized positions have already been filled. The first soldiers to undergo training in Germany will later become instructors and train new crews in Lithuania.

Major Vitis Ščukas, the officer in charge of the tank battalion project, reported that four fully staffed crews have been trained so far. Training for four more crews is scheduled to begin next week.

The basic training course for the gunner, loader, and tank operator lasts 12 weeks. Training for the driver takes an additional four weeks, while training for the tank commander requires an additional 18 weeks.

“My main goal is to successfully and smoothly form this unit so that by 2030 it can operate in accordance with the highest NATO standards,” Ščukas stated.

According to the commander of the Land Forces, the tank battalion will significantly strengthen the army. Lithuania will be the first of the three Baltic states to have such a unit.

Lithuania’s tanks before the Soviet occupation

From 1924 to 1940, the Lithuanian Army included tank units that initially had battalion status but were reorganized into separate tank companies in 1927. Lithuania acquired its first 12 French-made Renault FT-17 light tanks in the summer of 1923. Subsequently, its army received another 32 British-made Vickers Carden-Loyd M1933 and M1936 light tanks.

In 1939–1940, production of 21 LLT light tanks for the Lithuanian army began in Czechoslovakia; however, due to the Soviet occupation of the country, these vehicles never reached Lithuania.