On December 2, Chief of Defence of Lithuania Lieutenant General Jonas Vytautas Žukas left for the United Kingdom where he will be conducting a formal visit at the invitation of the Chief of the Defence Staff of the British Armed Forces, General Sir Nicholas Houghton. Chief of Defence of Lithuania, leadership of the British Armed Forces and representatives of the UK Ministry of Defence will discuss relevant points of regional security and defence cooperation, Lithuania's Chief of Defence will also familiarise with UK's military strategy, prospects of development of its armed forces, and the military operations British soldiers are taking part in.
Security situation in the southern and eastern flank of the Alliance, implementation of the NATO Readiness Action Plan in the Baltic region, cooperation initiatives and assistance to Ukraine will also be addressed at the meeting. Other points to be discussed are preparations for standbys for the UK-led European Union Battle Group (EU BG) in 2016 and the Very High Readiness Joint Task Force (VJTF) in 2017.
The Lithuanian and the British Chiefs of Defence are also planned to discuss participation in the UK-led high-readiness Joint Expeditionary Force (JEF) formed by 7 countries to tackle the unpredictable present-day challenges.
Lieutenant General J. V. Žukas is expected to return to Lithuania on December 4.
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The British Armed Forces have been developing close cooperation with the Lithuanian Armed Forces NATO, EU, bilateral and multilateral formats for more than two decades. The United Kingdom has made significant contributions to the development of the Lithuanian military training system and to the training of civilian and military personnel. British military instructors played a significant role in the creation of the Lithuanian Great Hetman J.Radvila Training Regiment and the reform of the General J.Žemaitis Military Academy of Lithuania and the Lithuanian Armed Forces (formerly, the NCO) School, provided methodological support in the formation of the English language teaching and testing system for the personnel of the Lithuanian National Defence System.
The Lithuanian Armed Forces procured 45 special-purpose Land Rover Defender all-terrain vehicles from the Ricardo UK company of the United Kingdom In 2005, and 2 Hunt-class mine hunters from the UK Ministry of Defence in 2013.
Lithuanian soldiers and civilian personnel of the National Defence System studied and improved their qualification in different defence training institutions of the United Kingdom. Our troops were many times deployed to multinational operations in Afghanistan and Iraq side by side with British troops, while military personnel of the United Kingdom took part in many international exercises in Lithuania.
Since August 2014 two Lithuanian soldiers have been assigned to the Headquarters Allied Rapid Reaction Corps (HQ ARRC) based in the United Kingdom. The HQ ARRC deployed to the Baltic States for the first time on November 9-20, 2015, for Exercise Arrcade Fusion 2015.
The United Kingdom contributes personnel to the NATO Energy Security Centre of Excellence and the NATO Force Integration Unit in Vilnius. In 2004 and 2014 the Royal Air Force Detachments were deployed to Šiauliai to conduct the NATO Air Policing Mission in the Baltic States.
Approximately 120 Lithuanian soldiers were on standby for the UK-led European Union Battle Group in the second semester of 2013. Roughly a hundred and a half of Lithuanian soldiers will again be assigned to a UK-led EU Battle Group to repeat the success of the first shift in the second semester of 2016.
Lithuanian soldiers will be assigned to the Joint Expeditionary Force (JEF), a UK-led high-readiness force launched to tackle unpredictable present-day challenges, as off next year: Lithuania looks to contributing a company-sized unit to the force and an officer to the JEF operational headquarters. A company of the Lithuanian Armed Forces is planned to be assigned to the UK-led Very High Readiness Joint Task Force (VJTF) in 2017.
POC: Spokesperson for the Chief of Defence of Lithuania Captain Mindaugas Neimontas, office phone: 00370 5 278 5091, mob. phone: 00370 682 25359, e-mail: mindaugas.neimontas@mil.lt
