Lithuania faces US delay over delivery of HIMARS rocket systems

Lithuania’s armed forces chief Raimundas Vaikšnoras said the United States was behind schedule in delivering HIMARS multiple-launch rocket systems to Lithuania, but said temporary deployments could help cover any capability gaps.

“The HIMARS delivery has been postponed. At the moment, I cannot say by how much or for how long. This is purely on the American side, probably related to their industry. But our crews have already completed their training and firing exercises, so we are waiting for them to arrive. Anything could happen,” Vaikšnoras told LRT television.

He said Lithuania had agreements allowing similar systems to be brought in temporarily while the delivery was delayed.

“I would also like to emphasise to the public that there is no need to be overly concerned, because there are agreements in place allowing us, while there are delays for various reasons, to bring similar systems to Lithuania temporarily. These could cover certain capability gaps,” he said.

Vaikšnoras said Lithuania had reached an agreement with the US Michigan National Guard on the possible temporary deployment of HIMARS systems.

“They have the same systems and can come to our exercises,” he said.

The United States had previously been expected to deliver the first HIMARS battery to Lithuania by the end of this year, with the systems scheduled to reach full operational capability by 2027.

Lithuania signed a $495 million contract with the United States in late 2022 to acquire eight HIMARS systems. In April, it signed an amendment worth about $280 million for a second HIMARS battery.

The contract is being implemented by US defence company Lockheed Martin.

Lithuania has purchased about €2 billion worth of weapons and equipment from the United States over the past three years.

By Aghakazim Guliyev