Lithuania's M577s upgraded
Germany's Flensburger Fahrzeugbau Gesellschaft (FFG) has upgraded 22 M577 armoured personnel carriers for the Lithuanian armed forces, the Lithuanian Ministry of Defence announced on 28 November.
The upgraded M577s will be used for command and control of Lithuania's PzH2000 howitzers. The 22 upgraded vehicles are planned to be transferred to the General Romualdas Giedraitis Artillery Battalion based in Rukla in 2019.
The total value of the upgrade contract amounts to €1.5 million ($1.71 million). Lithuanian enterprise UAB Autokurtas was contracted to complete part of the work with maintenance technology supplied by FFG. A new command and control system will be integrated in future.
The Lithuanian armed forces procured more than 180 M577 armoured personnel carriers for command, indirect fire support, medical evacuation and training purposes from the German armed forces, along with 21 PzH2000 howitzers and 10 BPZ2 armoured recovery vehicles in 2015-2016.
Related Equipment in Defence Insight
More from Land Warfare
-
![Land forces review: howitzers in the spotlight and Germany spends big to close the year]()
Land forces review: howitzers in the spotlight and Germany spends big to close the year
December saw several milestones on the howitzer front with billions of dollars worth of orders placed and Germany committing to more 6×6 and 4×4 vehicles. Taiwan was also approved for equipment orders worth $11 billion even as the year came to an end with China encircling the country as part of an exercise.
-
![US Army seeks industry support to prepare acquisitions of Group 4+ UAVs]()
US Army seeks industry support to prepare acquisitions of Group 4+ UAVs
The US Army is keen to hear about vendor designs, strategies and potential hardware and software solutions to inform requirements for procurement efforts.
-
![Dedicated drone munitions could unlock modular mission potential]()
Dedicated drone munitions could unlock modular mission potential
Top attacks have proven effective against heavily armoured vehicles in Ukraine. A new family of uncrewed aerial system-delivered munitions is looking to press that advantage further.
-
![Germany orders 84 Boxer howitzers as UK commits to a single demonstrator]()
Germany orders 84 Boxer howitzers as UK commits to a single demonstrator
Germany has ordered 84 RCH 155 self-propelled guns, as system incorporating Boxer 8×8 vehicles and the Artillery Gun Module, and 200 Puma Infantry Fighting Vehicles while the UK has committed to a single Early Capability Demonstrator RCH 155.
