Defense firms follow Lithuania’s allure of making ammo sans red tape

MILAN — Lithuania’s offer to lower administrative hurdles for foreign defense companies seeking to set up shop in the Baltic state has found several takers in major Western defense manufacturers.

The response comes after the Lithuanian government approved new legal amendments aimed at simplifying and shortening the procedures required for international companies to build local plants for cranking out ammunition.

Officials introduced a new category of investment projects, which grants large-scale production projects in the defense sector the status of “pressing national security needs,” and allows them to take advantage of regulatory exemptions.

The first company to have taken the bite is Germany’s Rheinmetall, which has already begun the construction of a production plant for 155mm artillery ammunition in Baisogala, Lithuania. The 340 hectares facility will include a shell manufacturing and load assembly pack, set to start operations in mid-2026.

It is expected to be able to supply an annual rate of “tens of thousands of 155mm calibre artillery,” a portion of which will be procured for the Lithuanian Armed Forces, states a Rheinmetall press release.

Agnė Raščiūtė, head of communications at Invest Lithuania, an organization of the country’s Ministry of Economy, told Defense News that at least five other companies have expressed interest to use the same legislative path.

Among them is the American multinational aerospace and defense firm Northrop Grumman, which signed a cooperation agreement with the Lithuanian Ministry of Defense in September to produce 30mm medium-caliber ammunition for infantry fighting vehicles in Vilnius.

“We hope that the cooperation with our American allies will strengthen the country’s security and preparedness, while also benefiting the wider region, including Ukraine,” Gintarė Skaistė, Lithuania’s minister of finance, said at the signing of the agreement.

The partnership was announced only a few weeks before Lithuania purchased an additional 27 Boxer-Vilkas combat vehicles via the Organisation for Joint Armament Cooperation, or OCCAR.

As per the requirements outlined by the Lithuanian military, the vehicles are to be equipped with U.S.-made 30mm MK-44S cannons as well as long-range, anti-tank missiles produced by Israel.

Given the significant demand for weapons and ammunition, other parties interested in Lithuania include an unspecified Ukrainian company looking to build an advanced explosives production plant in the Baltic state, Raščiūtė said.

Last month, Ukrainian and Lithuanian authorities signed several agreements for the countries’ defense companies to cooperate on weapons and ammunition production.

The envisioned areas of cooperation include the manufacture of drones, naval systems, electronic-warfare systems and the production of shells and explosives.

“If the allies are still questioning the rights and limits of the use of the weapons they supply, we need to think creatively and help Ukraine to make its own weapons – this is one of the areas of cooperation we are developing,” Laurynas Kasčiūnas, the Lithuanian Minister of National Defense, said.

Elisabeth Gosselin-Malo was a Europe correspondent for Defense News. She covers a wide range of topics related to military procurement and international security, and specializes in reporting on the aviation sector. She is based in Milan, Italy.

米兰——立陶宛提出降低外国国防公司在波罗的海国家设立机构的行政门槛，这一提议已获得几家西方主要国防制造商的响应。

此前，立陶宛政府批准了新的法律修正案，旨在简化和缩短国际公司在当地建设弹药生产厂所需的程序。

官员们推出了一类新的投资项目，赋予国防领域的大型生产项目“迫切的国家安全需要”的地位，并允许它们享受监管豁免。

率先采取行动的是德国莱茵金属公司，该公司已在立陶宛拜索加拉开始建设一座155毫米炮弹生产厂。这座占地340公顷的工厂将包括炮弹制造和装药组装车间，预计将于2026年中期投产。

莱茵金属公司在一份新闻稿中表示，预计该公司每年能够供应“数万门 155 毫米口径火炮”，其中一部分将采购给立陶宛武装部队。

立陶宛经济部下属机构 Invest Lithuania 的通讯主管 Agnė Raščiūtė 告诉《防务新闻》，至少还有五家公司表示有兴趣使用同样的立法途径。

其中包括美国跨国航空航天和国防公司诺斯罗普·格鲁曼公司，该公司于 9 月与立陶宛国防部签署了一项合作协议，在维尔纽斯生产用于步兵战车的 30 毫米中口径弹药。

“我们希望与美国盟友的合作能够加强国家的安全和战备能力，同时也能惠及包括乌克兰在内的更广泛地区，”立陶宛财政部长金塔雷·斯凯斯特在协议签署仪式上表示。

就在立陶宛通过联合军备合作组织（OCCAR）购买了 27 辆 Boxer-Vilkas 战斗车辆的几周前，双方宣布了这项合作关系。

根据立陶宛军方的要求，这些车辆将配备美国制造的 30 毫米 MK-44S 火炮以及以色列生产的远程反坦克导弹。

拉什丘特表示，鉴于对武器弹药的巨大需求，其他对立陶宛感兴趣的方面还包括一​​家未指明的乌克兰公司，该公司希望在这个波罗的海国家建造一座先进的炸药生产厂。

上个月，乌克兰和立陶宛当局签署了几项协议，两国国防企业将在武器弹药生产方面开展合作。

设想中的合作领域包括无人机制造、海军系统、电子战系统以及炮弹和炸药的生产。

立陶宛国防部长劳里纳斯·卡斯丘纳斯表示：“如果盟国仍然质疑他们提供的武器的使用权利和限制，我们需要发挥创造力，帮助乌克兰制造自己的武器——这是我们正在发展的合作领域之一。”

伊丽莎白·戈斯林-马洛曾任《防务新闻》欧洲通讯员。她的报道涵盖军事采购和国际安全等广泛领域，尤其擅长航空领域的报道。她常驻意大利米兰。