The G36 assault rifle is the main small arm used by the Lithuanian Armed Forces (Photo: Lithuanian MoD)
The Lithuanian MoD is progressing in its effort to update the armed forces’ inventory and has acquired a new batch of G36 assault rifles. The Defence Materiel Agency of the MoD signed a €19 million ($22 million) contract with Heckler & Koch on 30 September.
The new rifles will maintain the existing capabilities of the Lithuanian forces and replace obsolete and no longer used rifles, according to a press release from the MoD.
Although the MoD did not disclose details about the number of rifles purchased, it confirmed that deliveries will start in 2022, with the last guns being handed over in 2023.
The G36 assault rifle is the main small arm used by Lithuania. The press release noted it meets the service's requirements in terms of reliability under different tactical conditions on national and international operations.
Shephard Defence Insight notes that, in October 2018, the Lithuanian Army purchased G36 KA4M1 rifles under a contract worth US$12.6 million.
The G36 is a modular weapon made almost entirely of carbon-reinforced polymer which uses a self-regulating operating rod gas system.
It was developed in the 1990s to meet a German Armed Forces requirement for a 5.56mm assault rifle and entered service in 1997.
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