Work begins on Germany’s 5,000-strong military base in Lithuania

BERLIN — Construction has commenced on Germany’s first permanent military base abroad, which will be located in Lithuania. Berlin is set to move a brigade to the Baltic country by the end of the decade.

Lithuania and Germany agreed in December 2023 on the plan to station the 4,800 military and 200 civilian German personnel. Now, just over half a year later, construction has started on what will be the largest military installation in Lithuanian history, according to the Ministry of Defense in Vilnius. The plan is to put the brigade in service next year and to reach full operational ability by 2027, according to the Bundeswehr, Germany’s armed forces. In addition to the personnel, it will house 2,000 vehicles, an infographic released by the German Ministry of Defense shows.

While Germany will provide the troops, Lithuania will build the physical infrastructure. It will be located in the Rūdninkai Training Area in the country’s southeast and cost Vilnius €125 million ($139 million).

Politico, citing a German defense ministry speaker, previously reported that Berlin expects the brigade to require a “one-time investment of €6 to 9 billion,” mostly for the purchase of weapons systems, and annual operating expenses of €800 million thereafter.

The German military is already present in Lithuania. Berlin has been leading NATO’s enhanced forward presence in the country for six years. According to the Bundeswehr, 800 German military personnel already serve in Lithuania on a rotational basis.

The Bundeswehr has called the decision to deploy the 5,000-strong, combat-ready, heavy maneuver brigade “a beacon project of the watershed era in security policy.”

“Deployment in the long term and on this scale is also new for the German armed forces,” reads the service’s website.

Shortly after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz had declared a “Zeitenwende” – a fundamentally new era – when it came to security on the European continent and how Germany views its military. German defense spending was boosted significantly, and the country has taken on a more active role internationally. Berlin is the numerically second-largest supporter of Kyiv after only the United States and has worked to position itself as a key NATO partner, especially at the alliance’s eastern flank.

In the past, German policymakers have often been reserved about flexing Germany’s military or even diplomatic muscle on the world stage. Russia’s actions in Ukraine, especially its 2022 invasion, have changed this.

In the other Baltic states, Canada and the U.K. have taken the lead. Two Canadian battalions are expected to arrive in Latvia by 2025, while Britain has vowed to maintain a rapid deployment force to move to the region if needed.

The decision to permanently station German soldiers so close to Russia “brings the Zeitenwende into life,” said German state secretary for defense Nils Hilmer at this week’s ceremony marking the official start of construction work. “We know the value of reliable support and solidarity,” he added.

“Our aim is not to threaten or intimidate,” said Lithuanian Prime Minister Ingrida Šimonytė. But the country must have the confidence to know that if an outside force chose to test its defenses, it would be able to make them regret this decision, she said.

Linus Höller is Defense News' Europe correspondent and OSINT investigator. He reports on the arms deals, sanctions, and geopolitics shaping Europe and the world. He holds master’s degrees in WMD nonproliferation, terrorism studies, and international relations, and works in four languages: English, German, Russian, and Spanish.

柏林——德国首个海外永久性军事基地已在立陶宛破土动工。柏林计划在本十年末之前向这个波罗的海国家派遣一个旅。

立陶宛和德国于2023年12月达成协议，计划在立陶宛驻扎4800名德国军事人员和200名德国文职人员。如今，仅仅半年多之后，据立陶宛国防部称，这座将成为立陶宛历史上规模最大的军事设施已开始动工。德国联邦国防军表示，该旅计划于明年投入使用，并于2027年达到全面作战能力。德国国防部发布的一张信息图显示，除了人员之外，该设施还将容纳2000辆车辆。

德国将提供军队，而立陶宛将负责建设基础设施。该基地将位于立陶宛东南部的鲁德宁凯训练区，耗资1.25亿欧元（1.39亿美元），由维尔纽斯方面负责建设。

据 Politico 此前援引德国国防部发言人的话报道，柏林方面预计该旅需要“一次性投资 60 亿至 90 亿欧元”，主要用于购买武器系统，此后每年的运营费用为 8 亿欧元。

德国军队已在立陶宛驻扎。六年来，柏林一直领导着北约在该国的前沿部署。据德国联邦国防军称，目前已有800名德国军人以轮换方式在立陶宛服役。

德国联邦国防军称，部署这支拥有 5000 名士兵、随时可以作战的重型机动旅的决定是“安全政策分水岭时代的一个标志性项目”。

“长期大规模部署对德国武装部队来说也是全新的尝试，”该军种的网站上写道。

在俄罗斯全面入侵乌克兰后不久，德国总理奥拉夫·朔尔茨宣布欧洲大陆安全形势以及德国军事理念进入“时代转型”（Zeitenwende），标志着一个根本性的新时代。德国大幅增加国防开支，并在国际舞台上扮演更加积极的角色。柏林是仅次于美国的第二大乌克兰支持者，并致力于将自身打造成为北约的关键伙伴，尤其是在北约东翼。

过去，德国决策者往往不愿在国际舞台上炫耀德国的军事实力，甚至外交实力也较为谨慎。但俄罗斯在乌克兰的行动，特别是2022年的入侵，改变了这一局面。

在其他波罗的海国家，加拿大和英国已占据主导地位。预计到2025年，加拿大将向拉脱维亚派遣两个营的部队，而英国已承诺将保持一支快速部署部队，以便在需要时部署到该地区。

德国国防部国务秘书尼尔斯·希尔默在本周举行的工程正式开工仪式上表示，决定在如此靠近俄罗斯的地方永久驻扎德国军队，“使时代转型成为现实”。他补充说：“我们深知可靠支持和团结的价值。”

立陶宛总理英格丽达·西蒙尼特表示：“我们的目的并非威胁或恐吓。”但她也指出，立陶宛必须有信心，如果外部势力胆敢试探其防御能力，立陶宛必将让他们为此付出代价。

林努斯·霍勒是《防务新闻》的欧洲记者和开源情报调查员。他报道影响欧洲乃至全球的军火交易、制裁和地缘政治。他拥有大规模杀伤性武器不扩散、恐怖主义研究和国际关系三个硕士学位，并精通英语、德语、俄语和西班牙语四种语言。