Lithuania plans to sign Leopard purchase contract in November – defense minister

VILNIUS – Lithuania plans to sign a contract for the acquisition of Leopard 2 tanks in November, according to Defense Minister Laurynas Kasciunas. 

"The State Defense Council will convene in October, where we'll make a final decision on the contract to create a tank battalion. I can definitely confirm that," Kasciunas told the public broadcaster LRT on Thursday. 

"If the decision is positive, we can sign a contract for the development of tank battalions in November, and, without a doubt, the platform chosen is Leopard tanks," he added. 

Lithuania made the decision to acquire this military equipment earlier this year as part of its efforts to develop a division.

The Defense Ministry then began talks with the German manufacturer Krauss-Maffei Wegmann and other countries also looking to acquire this equipment.

Lithuania plans to buy the tanks in stages to speed up the acquisition of air defense systems.