Lithuania stocks up on Saab RBS 70 missiles
The Lithuanian Defence Materiel Agency has signed a four-year contract with Saab for additional RBS 70 air defence missiles.
Saab has signed a four-year contract with the Lithuanian Defence Materiel Agency, which allows the customer to place orders for RBS 70 missiles until 2026. An initial purchase under the new contract has been placed, worth SEK 350 million ($32 million). Deliveries will take place from 2023-2024.
Lithuania has been a user of the RBS 70 ground-based air defence missile system since 2004.
“'Our best-in-class short-range air defence missiles deliver a tactical advantage. The recent contract will further strengthen Lithuania’s air defence capability through the RBS 70 system,' said Görgen Johansson, head of Saab Dynamics.
Shephard Defence Insight lists Lithuania as having taken delivery of 260 RBS 70 missiles and estimates the unit cost at $100,000. Fellow Baltic nations Latvia and Finland also operate the Saab air defence system. Lithuania's medium-range air defence layer is provided by the Kongsberg NASAMS system and the country signed a letter of intent to join the Europe-wide Sky Shield initiative earlier this month.
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