NSPA delivers final modernised PzH 2000 to Lithuania

The NATO Support and Procurement Agency (NSPA) has announced on 22 March the delivery of the last refurbished PzH 2000 155mm self-propelled howitzer (SPH) to the Lithuanian Armed Forces.

A press release from NSPA stated that its project team supported the procurement of ammunition, customisation and modernisation of M577 and BPz2 support vehicles, implementation of a new fire control system and integration and acquisition of new sensors and optronics for forward observers and tactical air controllers.

Members of the Air and Land Combat Systems Programme and the Lithuanian Armed Forces' PzH 2000 project teams spent January to March 2022 ensuring the smooth transition of the final SPH to Lithuania.

The PzH 2000 was developed by Krauss-Maffei Wegmann in partnership with Rheinmetall in the 1990s to provide sustained artillery coverage for more than 50km.

Shephard Defence Insight notes that, in September 2015, Lithuania bought 21 surplus ex-German PzH 2000s, which of 16 were planned to enter service, while two will be used for training and three for spare parts.

The first two examples of this platform were delivered in June 2016 for training. Later, in 2017, Lithuania signed a contract with KMW to modernise 18 of its PzH 2000s (the operational and training examples). In December 2018, the first two of these upgraded platforms were delivered.