During the struggle against the terrible consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic and ensuing consequences in the national economy, the Lithuanian Ministry of Defense bought a batch of new firearms to finally abandon the pistols of different caliber.

The Armed Forces of Lithuania has already passed the first batch of German pistols HK SFP9 SF Paddle. This was reported by the press service of the Lithuanian Ministry of Defense.

Lithuanian servicemen will receive them in accordance with the agreement concluded last year by the Defense Resources Agency under the Ministry of National Defense and the German company Heckler & Koch.

“We provide a new high-quality leap in the Lithuanian army with these pistols of the German manufacturer. We want to provide Lithuanian troops with modern and advanced weapons,” said the Deputy Minister of Defense Vilius Semeška.

The Ministry of Defense stated that these German pistols were chosen as the most responsible needs of the Lithuanian army.

The need for such pistols is very dubious against the background of a non-ending coronavirus pandemic. In addition, in Lithuania, there is an acute issue with vaccination of the population. The fact is that the vaccine purchased into insignificant volumes and the entire population will definitely not be vaccinated.

Against this background, the purchase of about 5000 superdudged pistols for 865 euros per one seems to be causing questions about unwastefulness.

Unfortunately, this is not the first purchase of expensive weapons against the background of enormous economic problems within the country. It is worth remembering the purchase of the 168 M577 armored personnel carriers from Germany for 1.6 million euros. At the same time, the Lithuanian army acquired a batch of G-36 assault rifle in the amount of 12.5 million euros.

In addition, the Lithuanian Ministry of Defense continued to fill its army with outdated military equipment. So, in 2016, the country once again acquired about 200 units of the former military equipment in the amount of about two million euros. That time the technique arrived from the Netherlands.

Also, Naval forces have several ships that were in service in other countries and were written off as unnecessary. Two trawlers (type Hun) from the UK, several Norwegian (type Storm) and Danish (type Flyvefisken) patrol boats. At the same time, none of the ships have a missile weapon, although a complex of GM rocket weapons on board is the main trend of the naval forces in the 21st century.

In conclusion, the purchase of aging and used military equipment only undermines the image of Lithuania in the whole world. All European countries have been modernizing or purchasing new types of weapons, but, unfortunately, Lithuania has become a warehouse for obsolete military debris.

Balticword.com Vairis Godmanis