Lithuania’s Minister of National Defence concludes US visit
Lithuania’s Minister of National Defence Raimundas Karoblis will today conclude his visit to the United States after purchasing 4 Black Hawk helicopters for the Lithuanian Armed Forces.
The new helicopter platform will phase out the outdated and fault Soviet-made helicopters Lithuania currently relies on. The recent purchase, which follows last month’s deployment of a US battalion to the Belarusian-Lithuanian border, is proof of the burgeoning US-Lithuania military partnership. Now that the Lithuanian Armed Forces will be better integrated into the NATO-allied defense system, expect Lithuania to cooperate further on national security with the other 30 nations that share the same security platform.
Although the first shipment of helicopters is not expected until late 2024, the NATO-backed militarisation of the Baltics will likely fuel increasing tensions with Russia and its allies in the short term. With the Eastern Mediterranean region already becoming a potential flashpoint, encroachment into the Baltics by both sides as a result of political turmoil in Belarus will likely similarly increase. Meanwhile, we are likely to witness increasing displays of military force with the potential for the instigation of minor clashes as both sides ramp up their presence in the region.
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