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DECEMBER, 2018. NO 7 (7).

NEWS

16 COUNTRIES TRAINED TOGETHER AS EXERCISE IRON WOLF TOOK PLACE IN

ACTIVE PHASE OF EXERCISE TRIDENT JUNCTURE 2018 KICKED OFF IN Photo credit: Srg. Sp. Ieva Budzeikaitė Ieva Sp. credit: Srg. Photo RAPID RESPONSE FORCES: LITHUANIA CONTINUES Military Marked the NATO'S PRESENCE Centenary of the Re-established RUSSIAN CYBER ATTACKS: LIES ABOUT NATO ON NOVEMBER 24 A SOLEMN FORMATION AND MILITARY EQUIPMENT PARADE CONCLUDED THE CELEBRATION MARKING THE CENTENARY OF THE RE- ESTABLISHED LITHUANIAN ARMED FORCES. THE PUT ON DISPLAY NEARLY 2.000 SOLDIERS MARCHING OR DRIVING MILITARY VEHICLES. IT CAN BE CALLED THE LARGEST MILITARY EVENT IN THE HISTORY OF INDEPENDENT LITHUANIA.

can state firmly that the Armed abroad, retired officers and soldiers, injured Forces are welcoming the cente- soldiers and their families. Thousands of resi- nary being stronger than ever since dents and visitors of gathered to ob- SPECIAL the"I establishment of the state. I am proud to serve. see the Lithuanian Armed Forces growing "Insecure zones in the world keep expand- : stronger, its lines becoming more numerous, ing, so we have to keep strengthening Lithu- THE BEGINNING and support of the society further increasing. ania’s defence capabilities and compiling the It is the result of your impeccable service and resources we need. Temporary inconvenienc- self-sacrifice," Minister of National Defence es on public roads, gunshot sounds in the Raimundas Karoblis said greeting the audi- vicinity of inhabited areas, supersonic fighter ence and participants. jet flights — it is the smallest price we are pay- The event was attended by top leadership ing to deter the adversary and to know how of the state of Lithuania and the Lithuanian to act professionally, precisely and operatively Armed Forces, distinguished guests from See page 3 Dear readers of the "Lithuanian Military Digest", Content By marking the solemn anniversary of the re-establishment of the State of Lithuania, recently we celebrated another important event — NEWS the 100th anniversary of the of the Lithuanian Armed Forc- es. However, here we mention not only the date, but also the hundred- MILITARY PARADE MARKED THE CENTENARY year history of success, which has been created by all Lithuanian people. OF THE RE-ESTABLISHED LITHUANIAN ARMED Remembering the first volunteers of 1918, Kazys Škirpa and his com- FORCES...... 1, 3 panions who raised our in the Gediminas Castle Tower on 1 January 1919, the freedom fights and their victories, the rebellion of CHIEF OF DEFENCE LT. GEN. J. V. ŽUKAS: " IS Klaipėda, which brought back the access to the Baltic Sea to Lithuania, A SPECIAL ALLY TO LITHUANIA"...... the refusal of the soldiers to obey the orders of the red occupants and 4 the withdrawal into the woods, where the War After War began in 1944... AGREEMENT TO DRAFT A LONG-TERM DEFENCE Partisans, whose squads were formed and led by loyal officers of our country, during the darkest times of occupation, in the years of bolshe- COOPERATION PLAN...... 5 vik oppression defended the flag of the Lithuanian Armed Forces, not 16 COUNTRIES TRAINED TOGETHER AS EXERCISE allowing the nation’s and country’s history to be tortured in the KGB basements or to die in GULAG camps. IRON WOLF TOOK PLACE IN LITHUANIA...... 6 The armed struggle of the forest brothers — an integral part of the ACTIVE PHASE OF EXERCISE TRIDENT JUNCTURE Lithuanian Armed Forces — which lasted until 1965, was undoubtedly a solid ground for the subsequent revival of the nation. It was symbol- 2018 KICKED OFF IN NORWAY...... 7 ized by a Lithuanian flag which was bravely raised in the Vilnius Cathe- dral Square on 3 June 1988 by a GULAG camp survivor and a partisan RAPID RESPONSE FORCES: LITHUANIA Leonas Laurinskas-Liūtas. CONTINUES...... 8 11 March 1990 was a sign of another revival of the Lithuanian Armed Forces. On April 25 of the same year, after the establishment of the Na- CHIEF OF OF THE LITHUANIAN tional Defence Department and swift gathering of first volunteers, a ARMED FORCES HAS VISITED TROOPS IN modern Lithuanian Armed Forces began to emerge again. It withstood AFGHANISTAN...... 9 the January events and the challenges of 1991 August putsch, was the first in the whole Middle and Eastern which joyfully waved to LITHUANIAN LAND FORCE PERSONNEL TRAINED the leaving occupants’ army and began to firmly approach towards the IN INTERNATIONAL EXERCISE COMBINED ultimate goal of that time — NATO membership. RESOLVE...... 10 Exemplary fostering patriotism, free, modern, having a strong interna- tional support, Lithuanian Armed Forces today is one of the leaders. Impres- MINISTERS AGREED ON STRENGTHENING sive achievements in international missions, volunteers constantly joining COOPERATION OF THE BALTIC STATES’ SPECIAL the brothers-in-arms, and high respect from Western countries to friends and FORCES...... 11 enemies does not allow to forget what is small, but magnificent Lithuania! Wish you a pleasant reading, NATO'S PRESENCE team of the "Lithuanian Military Digest" RUSSIAN CYBER ATTACKS: LIES ABOUT NATO...... 12

SPECIAL ASSAULT RIFLE: THE BEGINNING...... 18

Military Press Office of Lithuanian Armed Forces Totorių str. 25, LT-01121, Vilnius; Phone (370 5) 210 3897, GSM (370 6) 28 75851; fax (370 5) 273 5550; Kotryna Gurevičiūtė Correspondent Phone (370 5) 210 3897, GSM (370 6) 28 75851; fax (370 5) 273 5550; Email [email protected]

Publisher — Lithuanian Armed Forces. The opinion of editorial office does not necessarily coin- cide with the opinion of the authors. Pictures, manuscripts are not returned and reviewed. Cir- Cpt. Kazys Škirpa, commander of the Lithuanian Grand Duke Kęstutis 5th infantry culation is 300 copies. Printed by the Cartography Center of Lithuanian Military, Muitinės str.4, Domeikava, LT-54359 dist. Order GL-599. regiment of the Lithuanian Armed Forces, on a horse. 1920. This officer in 1918 became the first volunteer of the Lithuanian Armed Forces, and on January 1 1919, together with his soldiers, raised the of Lithuania at the Gediminas Tower in Vilnius.

2 Lithuanian Military Digest News

Military Parade Marked the Centenary of the Re-established Lithuanian Armed Forces Photo credits: Sgt. Spc. Ieva Budzeikaitė, Alfredas Budzeikaitė, Pliadis Ieva Sgt. Spc. credits: Photo From page 1 The event presented military equipment of The military equipment was transported in the event of a need. Being ready to defend almost all Lithuanian Armed Forces services, in- back to its permanent deployment locations our land is the common cause of all of us. I am cluding the most recent purchases of the Lithu- immediately after the event. happy and grateful that the major part of our anian Armed Forces – PzH2000 self-propelled The Order of the Re-establishment of the society understands it and supports the Lithu- artillery howitzers, Vilkas Infantry Fighting Ve- Lithuanian Armed Forces was signed on 23 anian Armed Forces and our allies deployed hicles, known as Boxer IFVs in the world. Com- November 1918 and the date is marked as here," Chief of Defence of Lithuania Lieuten- mander of the Lithuanian Land Force Major Lithuanian . Each year it ant General Jonas Vytautas Žukas said in the General Valdemaras Rupšys was in command of is celebrated in various events across Lithu- beginning of the solemn formation. the formation and the equipment parade. ania.

December 2018. No 7. 3 News

Chief of Defence Lt. Gen. J. V. Žukas: "Denmark Is a Special Ally to Lithuania"

very restoration of Lithuania’s independence. In 2015 Lithuania and Denmark updated their bilateral Memorandum of Understand- ing covering cooperation on defence plan- ning, defence strategy, communications and information systems, defence industry, and other areas. Denmark has great merits in training and arming Gen. R. Giedraitis Artillery Battalion of the Lithuanian Armed Forces. The coun- try continually renders assistance for training Lithuanian military personnel, by arranging joint military exercises, and deploying Danish soldiers to take part in military exercises held in Lithuania. The Mechanised Infantry Brigade Iron Wolf of the Lithuanian Armed Forces, used to be affiliated to the Danish Army Divi- sion (DDIV) and took part in joint exercises regularly, which increased the ability of both countries to carry out joint operations. On 22 May 2018 the Motorised Infantry Brigade

Photo credits: Alfredas Pliadis credits: Photo Griffin of the Lithuanian Armed Forces was af- filiated to the DDIV instead of it, which gives n November 28 Chief of Defence of multinational operations, priorities of capabil- Lithuanian soldiers the opportunity to train in the Kingdom of Denmark General ity development, main military exercises held NATO exercises and training as part of a Dan- Bjørn I. Bisserup conducted a for- in our country, and analysis of informational ish Division. Omal visit to Lithuania. threats. Denmark also contributed to the develop- He began the visit by meeting with Chief of Danish General concluded the one-day visit ment of multilateral Baltic projects: BALTRON Defence of Lithuania Lieutenant General Jonas by laying a tribute wreath in Antakalnis Cem- (), BALTNET (Baltic Air Vytautas Žukas. The counterparts discussed etery in Vilnius to the fallen for Lithuania’s Surveillance Network), BALTDEFCOL (Baltic topicalities of regional security, joint bilateral freedom. Defence College in Tartu, ), and is one and multilateral projects, international military Lithuania and Denmark have been bound of the most active participants of the NATO Air exercises, possibilities to develop cooperation. by partnership in defence area nearly since the Policing Mission in the Baltic states. "Denmark is a special ally to Lithuania — we are connected by more than two decades of close military cooperation. We are grateful to the for every kind of support and efforts to strengthen security of Lithuania and the ," Lt. Gen. J. V. Žukas un- derscored. Lt. Gen. J. V. Žukas presented to Gen. B. I. Bisserup the Lithuanian Armed Forces Medal "100 years for the re-established Lithu- anian Armed Forces" for his personal contribu- tion to enhancing Lithuanian Armed Forces. During the meeting with leadership of the Defence Staff of the Lithuanian Armed Forces and the NATO Force Integration Unit and representatives of the Ministry of National Defence at the Lithuanian Armed Forces Of- fice Gen. B. I. Bisserup was extensively briefed on the security situation in our region, par- ticipation of the Lithuanian Armed Forces in

4 Lithuanian Military Digest News

Agreement to Draft a Long-term Defence Cooperation Plan Photos: courtesy of the U.S. Department of Defence Department of the U.S. courtesy Photos:

e have to ensure a compre- from only confirm the necessity of the exemplary observance of defence financ- hensive support of the Unit- additional NATO security measures in the ing commitment — it only proves again ed States of America (US) Baltic region as well as the need to have them that even if a country is small like yours, it "Wto Lithuania and the entire region. The US is strengthened. For that reason we have agreed can still be an example to everyone else," Lithuania’s key security partner which was re- to sign a long-term cooperation plan with the J. Mattis said at the meeting. He also thanked iterated by the meeting with US Secretary of US which will define specific measures for Lithuania for the substantial contribution to Defence James Mattis. The US understands strengthening deterrence in our region," Mi- multinational operations. the scope and realness of our threats and the nister said. During the official visit to the United need to strengthen deterrence measures," Min- When addressing prospects of further States R. Karoblis also met with US Sena- ister of National Defence Raimundas Karoblis bilateral cooperation the officials agreed to tors and spoke at a closed CEPA (Center said after the meeting with US Secretary of De- enhance the cooperation on intelligence, air for European Policy Analysis) session on fence at the Pentagon. defence, and cyber security areas. R. Karoblis the security in our region. The next day The officials had a shared assessment of also underscored that the US military pres- R. Karoblis visited the US Special Opera- the Russian aggression against in ence in Lithuania and the region was one of tions Command and the US Central Com- the Sea of Azov region, Russian violations of the cornerstones security guarantees to Li- mand. He also participated in the Reagan Na- international law, and disregard of bilateral thuania. tional Defence Forum at the Ronald Reagan agreements it had signed itself. "Such actions "We respect and thank Lithuania for Presidential Library.

December 2018. No 7. 5 News

16 Countries Trained Together As Exercise Iron Wolf Took Place in Lithuania "We are holding Exercise Iron Wolf in order to train and assess readiness of units to redeploy quickly to any location within Lithuania and to engage in defensive actions there. It is our largest exercise this semester that gives us the opportunity to train to- gether with our allies. We seek to train mo- bility of units, their ability to quickly reach any part of Lithuania, to carry out defensive operations and eliminate forces of the ad- versary, so combat vehicles will be moving from their home bases to areas of assembly and areas of operations during this exercise," officer conducting the exercise Commander of the Mechanised Infantry Brigade Iron Wolf Colonel Steponavičius then said. The main objective of the exercise was to train and assess the ability to plan and com- plete defensive actions, as well as interoper- ability in joint operations with allies and part- ner of the NATO enhance Forward Presence Battalion Battle Group (eFP BG) and the Lithuanian Grand Duchess Birutė Uhlan Bat- Photo credits: Kotryna credits: Photo Gurevičiūtė talion, both assigned to the MIB Iron Wolf. During the first week of the exercise units were training to operate together with sub- units assigned for exercise purposes. During the second week complex force-on-force field training took place. Soldiers were also practis- ing live firing at firing ranges of the military training areas. In total, Exercise Iron Wolf involved roughly 3.5 thousand participants from 16 countries. Aside from the organiser, the Lithuanian Armed forces, and from soldiers manning the NATO eFP BG from , , the , the Nether- lands, Norway and , the exercise was also attended by soldiers from the , Estonia, , U.S., Canada, Slove- nia, and Ukraine. During the exercise roughly 1.000 military vehicles such as tanks, infantry fighting ve- hicles, armoured personnel carriers, artillery systems, provision and administrative trans- port were moving via Lithuania’s roads. Exercise Iron Wolf is an international ex- ercise held to assess readiness to plan and n November 4, Exercise Iron Wolf Žukauskas training fields, but also civilian ter- execute military operations of each rotation began. The exercise was running ritories and surrounding areas. Columns of of the NATO eFP BG and one of the subordi- for two weeks, not only in mili- military vehicles were moving by public roads nate Lithuanian battalions of the Mechanised Otary areas, Gaižiūnai and General Silvestras and inhabited territories. Infantry Brigade Iron Wolf.

6 Lithuanian Military Digest News

Active Phase of Exercise Trident Juncture 2018 Kicked off in Norway Photo credits: Sgt. Spc. Ieva Budzeikaitė Ieva Sgt. Spc. credits: Photo

n October 25–November 7 active ployed to the exercise as part of NATO units: Juncture 2018 tested NATO ability to plan phase of Exercise Trident Juncture LNS Kuršis (M-54) was currently on standby and execute main collective defence opera- 2018 took place: NATO and part- with the Standing NATO Mine Countermea- tions — from the ability to deploy and re- Oner nations’ forces maneuvered in Norway and sures Group One (SNMCMG1); soldiers of ceive reinforcement, to tactical training, and surrounding north Atlantic and Baltic Sea ter- the Deployable CIS Module of the Lithuanian command of a large force. Such an exercise ritories, , and airspace of and Grand Duke Gediminas Headquarters Battal- improves NATO readiness to respond to any Sweden. The exercise rehearsed defence of a ion assigned to the 3rd NATO Signal Battalion. aggressor in the event of a need. NATO country under attack and collective de- The scenario imitated a conflict of near-peer Assembly of thousands of troops and tones fence scenario. adversaries. The participants were split into of equipment from 31 countries was a mas- NATO’s largest exercise in the recent past the "South Force" (German and Dutch corps, sive logistical commitment. The equipment involved air, land, maritime, special operations German, Italian, and British brigades) and the and personnel arrived in Norway from as far and assault forces from 31 participating coun- "North Force" (Norwegian, Canadian, and as San Diego in California (8300 km), Charles- tries. NATO showcased its ability to move Swedish brigades, and expeditionary force of ton in Texas (7500 km) and Izmir in large military capabilities within its boundaries the US Marine Corps). The forces switched (3000 km). Roughly 180 flights and 60 vessels of responsibility that ensure the Alliance’s se- roles to play the simulated aggressor and the with equipment and personnel aboard arrived curity. 65 warships operated in the water areas NATO each. Neither the sce- through 27 destinations in Norway (ports, of the exercise, over 250 military aircraft in its nario, nor the exercise was directed against airports, railway stations, roads). Roughly 130 airspace, over 10,000 military vehicles were de- any other country. NATO forces were enacting logistics personnel have been working for years ployed on land, and in total, over 50,000 mili- fictitious situations against fictitious enemies; to find the best air, land and sea routes for mov- tary personnel trained across all domains. however, the experience and lessons they took ing forces and equipment and facilitating the The Lithuanian Armed Forces seek to op- away is real. deployment. erate efficiently and in concert with its allies The main area of Exercise Trident Juncture NATO announced as far back as 2013 that militaries, therefore 90 soldiers of the Lithu- 2018 was in the central and eastern parts of Trident Juncture 2013 would be a highly vis- anian Land and Air Forces, Navy, Logistics Norway and surrounding water areas of the ible exercise in a northern ally, Norway. Three Command, , and the Lithuanian North Atlantic Ocean and the Baltic Sea. Ice- years ago Exercise Trident Juncture in Italy, Grand Duke Gediminas Headquarters Battal- land and airspace of Sweden and Finland were , and involved roughly 36,000 ion were representing Lithuania at the Exercise also exercise areas. Some of the most exciting soldiers from 30 countries, also, in 2002 NATO Trident Juncture 2018. Our soldiers operated actions were land, air, and assault operations organised Exercise Strong Resolve in Norway as staff officers, forward air controllers, refuel- which took place in Central Norway where and with roughly 40,000 participants ling and power supply equipment personnel, a collective defence scenario was rehearsed: from 29 countries. and control and communications specialists. NATO helped Norway restore its territorial in- Large military drills are no news to Norway. They trained in Central and Northern Euro- tegrity and drew out a fictitious enemy. The country has long traditions of hosting im- pean areas of the exercise: Norway, Finland, NATO continues strengthening its readi- portant allies and international exercises, such Sweden, and Germany. ness and mobility in response to the chang- as Cold Response, Dynamic Mongoose, and A part of the Lithuanian soldiers were de- ing security environment, therefore Trident Arctic Challenge.

December 2018. No 7. 7 News

Rapid Response Forces: Lithuania continues Photo credit: Sgt. A. Čemerka (soldier of Algirdas Battalion assigned to the JEF train in the UK) to the JEF train assigned Battalion of Algirdas credit: Sgt. A.Photo (soldier Čemerka

ithuania obliges to continue deploying police platoon, national support element, etc., fence System serving in NATO and EU mili- to multinational operations next year are planned to be assigned to the NATO Re- tary headquarters, to a multinational operation Lithuanian military units assigned to sponse Force in 2019. in case of necessity as soon as a North Atlantic Lthe NATO Response Force (NRF), UK-led In 2020 the number will grow to up to 670. Council or the adopts a cor- Joint Expeditionary Force (JEF), and military Up to 540 military and civilian personnel of the responding decision. and civilian personnel of the National Defence National Defence System are planned to be as- Lithuanian Armed Forces units assigned to System serving at NATO and EU headquar- signed to the NATO Response Force, and up the JEF would only be deployed to multination- ters. On November 6th it was approved by the to 130 — to NATO/EU headquarters. A head- al operations based on the Se- Resolution of the of the Republic of quarters and supply vessel, special forces task curity Council resolutions, NATO or the EU, or Lithuania on the maximal number of soldiers group, two infantry companies (one of them to multinational operations in NATO or EU mem- and civilian personnel assigned to military serve in composition of the BALTBAT Baltic bers’ territories only if such a decision would forces who are assigned to NATO Rapid Re- Battalion), staff officers, CBRN defence- pla be made by the JEF-leading nation, the United sponse Force or serve in NATO or EU military toon, forward tactical refuelling team, move- Kingdom, after consultations with and by com- headquarters, as well as military units of Lithu- ment control team, water purification unit, mil- mon assent of other JEF-contributing nations. ania assigned to the JEF, participating in multi- itary medics, etc., are planned to be assigned to The NATO Response Force is formed by national operations in 2019-2020. the NATO Response Force in 2020. capabilities assigned by members of the Alli- On the basis of the Resolution, the biggest In 2019–2020 an infantry company, up to ance that are selected by NATO experts on the number of soldiers and civilian personnel of 190 soldiers, will be assigned to the UK-led JEF. basis of readiness level and need. The NATO the National Defence System that can be as- The Resolution which expires on December Response force is subdivided according to the signed to the NATO Response Force in 2019 31, 2018, stipulates that up to 490 soldiers could readiness into the Very High Readiness Joint is 390, and up to 130 — to NATO-EU head- be deployed to multinational operations in 1 Task Force (VJTF) and the initial follow-on quarters. The total number of soldiers and ci- January 2017–31 December 2017, and up to force group. The basis of VJTF is formed by vilians assigned to military forces will be up to 500 — in 1 January 2018–31 December 2018. , Germany, Italy, Poland, Spain, UK, and 520. A shallow-water mine countermeasures The adopted Resolution will allow Lithu- Turkey. One rotation of the NATO Response team, mine countermeasures vessel, special ania to fulfill its commitment to the Alliance Force is 12 months over which the capabilities forces task group, infantry company, staff offi- and the EU properly and to deploy Lithuanian assigned by NATO members can be sent to a cers, military medics, EOD platoon, movement military units assigned to NRF, as well as civil- multinational operation is if the North Atlantic control team, water purification unit, military ian and military personnel of the National De- Council decides so.

8 Lithuanian Military Digest News

Chief of Defence Staff of the Lithuanian Armed Forces has visited troops in Afghanistan hief of Defence Staff of the Lithuanian Armed Forces Major General Vi- talijus Vaikšnoras visited Lithuanian Csoldiers deployed in Afghanistan. He began the visit with a meeting with the Lithuanian special operations s leadership in Bagram, later met with Lithuanian military personnel serving in Kabul and leadership of Operation Resolute Support. Chief of Defence Staff also visited Lithu- anian soldiers in Kandahar and Herat and met with military leaderships of the regions. "Modern threats are global in character, therefore the response to them is the same. Lithuanian soldiers alongside their allies and partners support the fight against such threats where they originate. Lithuanian soldiers have shown by their resolve and hard work that they are full-fledged providers of security guaran- tee. The leadership of the multinational opera- tion and local community appreciates them," Maj. Gen. Vitalijus Vaikšnoras said. Currently over 50 Lithuanian soldiers from the Land Force, Defence Staff, Training and Doctrine Command, Military Police, and Spe- cial Operations Forces are serving in Afghani- stan. Some of them are deployed to the Opera- tion Resolute Support HQ and the base in the vicinity of the airfield in Kabul, and in the Re- gional Command — West in Herat. The special forces troops are serving in Kandahar in the south of Afghanistan. Armed Forces of the Lithuanian Archive credits: Photo

December 2018. No 7. 9 News

Lithuanian Land Force personnel trained in international Exercise Combined Resolve

n November 26–December 14 over 5,500 soldiers from 16 NATO allies and partners rehearsed defensive operationsO together in international Exercise Combined Resolve XI. Part of the Exercise runs in Lithuania — staff of the Mortised In- fantry Brigade Griffin is training at the Gen- eral Adolfas Ramanauskas Warfare Training Centre in Nemenčinė. A the same time over 300 soldiers of the Lithuanian Grand Duke Algirdas Mechanised Infantry Battalion are de- ployed to train in the main exercise location in Germany. Algirdas Battalion troops were deployed with their own weaponry and equipment and trained to complete defensive operations alongside Ukrainian and Georgian companies as a mechanised battalion in composition of a US infantry brigade. Monika Zabinaitė Cpl. credits: Photo All of the training audience of the exercise Brigade Griffin Col. Artūras Radvilas stressed space. It sustains readiness to respond to po- was formed as an international division with the importance of the exercise and the op- tential security threats," Commander of the four subordinate brigades. Two Brigades from portunity to train as part of a division at the Lithuanian Land Force Maj. Gen. Valdemaras Lithuania (the Griffin Brigade) and the United Exercise opening ceremony at the Gen. A. Ra- Rupšys said about the Exercise. Kingdom took part in the Exercise from their manauskas Vanagas Warfare Training Centre, Exercise Combat Resolve XI focused on home countries using tactical simulation sys- and expressed delight that it was the first time planning and completing military tasks in or- tems, while the infantry and close air support the Control Group of the recently established der to ensure forces in Europe are unified and brigades formed by US soldiers conducted tac- Duke Margiris Infantry Battalion would be able to coordinate and carry collective interna- tical field training with units and equipment in training together. Soldiers of the MIB Griffin tional defence. It also fosterd international co- Germany. Aside from soldiers of Algirdas Bat- used the JCATS in Lithuania to complete Exer- operation, integration of soldiers from different talion there were soldiers from the Land Force cise tasks together with allies deployed across countries and their ability to adapt to a rapidly Staff, Mechanised Infantry Brigade Staff and Germany. changing environment. The Exercise was or- subordinate units deployed to Germany to var- "When training multinational operations, ganised by the US 7th Army Training Com- ious Exercise positions in division and brigade- combat units of the Brigade are gaining invalu- mand that has delegated a group of observers- level staffs. able battlefield experience, whether training on assessors to supervise Lithuanian participants Commander of the Motorised Infantry the ground or controlling operations in virtual training at home.

10 Lithuanian Military Digest News

Ministers Agreed on Strengthening Cooperation of the Baltic States’ Special Forces Photo credits: Sgt. Spc. Ieva Budzeikaitė Ieva Sgt. Spc. credits: Photo

n November 24 Minister of Nation- tions Forces have to cooperate closely because operation priorities. Baltic Defence Ministers al Defence of Lithuania Raimundas that is how security of all the Baltic states is and Chiefs of Defence are meeting biannually Karoblis, Minister of Defence of strengthened," Minister of National Defence to discuss political aspects of regional security, OLatvia Raimonds Bergmanis, and Minister of Raimundas Karoblis said. jointly develop practical cooperation projects, Defence of Estonia Jüri Luik discussed topical Lithuania chaired the Baltic Security and such as the Baltic Defence College, assignment matters in NATO and EU context, addressed Defence Cooperation. After the Ministers’ of a joint Baltic unit to NATO forces, Baltic Air strengthening of the Baltic states’ special forces meeting the duties were transferred to Estonia. Surveillance and Control System, Baltic Naval cooperation, and maritime surveillance, at a On November 24 Baltic Ministers of De- Squadron. Further priorities of the Baltic De- meeting in Vilnius. fence signed a joint communique which re- fence Cooperation are proposed at such meet- "Cooperation among the Special Opera- flects the Baltic states’ priorities in strengthen- ings. Baltic Defence Policy Directors, chiefs tions Forces is vital for the Baltic region. This ing regional security. of joint staffs, Commanders of air, land, naval, service would be the first to respond to devel- Cooperation with the other Baltic states is special forces, and experts of various levels are oping crises, therefore Baltic Special Opera- one of the main Lithuania’s international co- meeting on a regular basis as well. Photo credits: Giedrė Maksimovicz Giedrė credits: Photo

December 2018. No 7. 11 NATO's presence

Russian Cyber Attacks: Lies About NATO

PRIOR TO THE BEGINNING OF THE BIGGEST EXERCISE SINCE THE END OF THE COLD WAR "TRIDENT JUNCTURE 2018", PSYCHOLOGICAL AND INFORMATION OPERATIONS' ANALISTS OF LITHUANIAN ARMED FORCES WERE DETERMINED TO LAY THEIR HEADS, THAT AT LEAST IN THE CONTEXT OF INFORMATION WAR, THIS EXERCISE WILL RECEIVE EXCLUSIVE ATTENTION FROM RUSSIA. AS IT WAS EXPECTED, THE AGGRESSIVE REACTION OF RUSSIA TO THESE EXERCISES WAS NOT SO MUCH TO THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY, BUT TO RUSSIA’S DOMESTIC "AUDIENCE" AND FANS OF PUTIN’S REGIME FROM THE NEARBY COUNTRIES OF RUSSIA (ESPECIALLY IN THE BALTIC STATES), CONSISTING OF MORE OR LESS RUSSIAN ETHNIC COMMUNITIES.

uring the exercises, an article was information was disseminated and remained that there is a false news published in our por- published in one of the Lithuanian unnoticed for some time on the "Kas vyksta tal. It was posted on October 26th, although news portals Delfi.lt, which reveals Kaune" ("What is happening in Kaunas") portal. it is reported that it was released on October theD Kremlin’s disinformation, designed for con- Later it turned out that the portal content man- 25th. The content management system has fusing the international communities and the agement system was cyber-hacked. been logged on behalf of the former employ- greater blame of the Russian society towards "Yesterday, officers from the Lithuanian ee’s login from foreign servers," said Brigita the Western world and its democratic values. Armed Forces, Ministry of Defence, and Minis- Sabaliauskaitė, Editor-in-Chief of "Kas vyksta NATO plans to invade . Such false try of Foreign Affairs came to us with a message Kaune". She thanked the authorities for the re-

12 Lithuanian Military Digest NATO's presence

port, adding that the portal has now taken ad- ditional security measures and urged other re- gional media to do the same, since such attacks are being repeated and can only increase in the future. "No one noticed, because the message was placed and hidden deeply among the news stream. The readability was very low, and there were no comments at all, so our assumption is that the false news providers wait for the right moment. We are currently introducing ad- ditional security measures, and we hope that such attacks will not take place in the future," emphasized B. Sabaliauskaitė. In a message which was published later it was mentioned that the date of the publication "NATO is planning to invade Belarus" in the news portal was specified to be October 25th at 4:30 pm. However, the investigation revealed that the publication was placed artificially by delaying the date and time. Cyber-attacks took place on October 26th WAS SPREAD BY THE SUSPICIOUS poor skills and translated between 13:11 and 13:43h. The analysis of PERSONS from a non-legitimate news portal opednews. the information also revealed that its content The false message describes the exercise com, an imaginary invasion scenario was pre- was shared on another news portal valstietis.lt, "Anakonda" which actually took place in Po- sented. which was also promptly informed about the land in November. However, this message Thus, a buffer zone will be formed between need to remove the information of the said states that the main goal of the exercise is to Russia and the eastern Alliance border (en- content. "We want to pay attention to the fact organize a serious provocation against Belarus suring the security and defence of the region, that valstietis.lt has no right to share our pub- and occupy part of its territory. This is allegedly and especially the Suwalki Corridor). This will lications and until this moment we did not confirmed by the exercise plans that "have been create favourable conditions for the invasion have any information that they would share published online". of Belarus. First stage of the exercise: NATO the other kind of our published news," says It is announced that after the provocation strengthens its military forces along the bor- B. Sabaliauskaitė. Also, the article on the same the activation of NATO’s Article 5 will be re- ders with Russia and Belarus (demonstration content was found on another propaganda hearsed: Allied forces will enter and never of military force). Second stage of the exercise: channel — the website ldiena.lt. leave Belarus. In a publication written with Belarus commits an aggression act against the

December 2018. No 7. 13 NATO's presence

Republic of Lithuania. Third stage of the exercise: aggression resis- tance and counter-attack. Fourth stage of the exercise: NATO forces enter Belarus and occupy part of its territory. "It is obvious that during the exercise NATO commanders are planning to deal not only with defence matters!", is being said in a message which in a few past weeks was distributed by the "John Scott", who represents himself as a jour- nalist of the British tabloid newspaper "The Daily Mail". Truth is that such person does not work for "The Daily Mail". The portal "OpEdNews" presents itself as a "progressive, liberal news, and anti- military activists and opinions portal" created by Rob Call in the in 2003.

ENEMY AT THE GATES This casual informational provocation is just another proof that the Kremlin’s "troll factory", despite increasing cases of unmasking its activities, is not reducing its speed. However, the intimidation with attacking Alliance’s war, which was spread through a large number of Lithuanian news portals, some of which attract exclu- sively pro-Russian Lithuanian audiences, show a certain turning point in ’s propaganda campaigns. In the past, the largest informational and, of course, financial re- sources were used to positively enlighten Kremlin’s actions in the West, which embodied Putin’s statement that the collapse of the was the greatest geopolitical mistake of the 20th cen- tury. In this way, Moscow, with a particularly strong penetration to the Western media structures, sought favourable or at least neutral assessments of its second war in Chechnya, annexation of part of the — Sakartvelo (former Georgia) territory (again under military actions consequences). Similarly, exactly via the Western mass media it was sought to attach negative evaluations, for example, to the Orange Revolution in Ukraine, which led to the Kremlin sponspored puppet Viktor Yanukovich to spare the presi- dential post for pro-Western Viktor Yushchenko. In the "near abroad" or in the "Northwest Territories", as some of the Russian politicians call the Baltic states, since V. Putin came to power, an increasingly intense campaign for the hijacking of the in- formation space has been also carried out, covered by attitude that "no art, sport or anything else should be confused with politics". And it should be said that for a long time the Kremlin’s efforts were not fruitless because in Vilnius, , and Tallinn full concert halls used to be filled up with the fans of banal pop music, who glori-

14 Lithuanian Military Digest NATO's presence

fied "great mother Russia" and various "Russian Days" used to took place, not to mention the seas of St. George’s ribbon (Russian military symbol which became a synonim since the war in Ukraine began) every 9th of May, when the Kremlin celebrated its victory in the "Great Pa- triotic War". However, the situation began to change when in the Baltic state and, first of all, in the Lithuanian Armed Forces, emerged divisions engaged in strategic communication and re- sponding directly to information and psycho- logical operations as well as identifying their threats, short-term and long-term effects. Another important case of unmasking the Kremlin’s lies was the war in Ukraine started by Russia, which tore off any masks and uncov- ered true face of this regime. But the informa- tion attack during the exercise "Trident Junc- ture 2018" mentioned in this article, as well as further Moscow’s actions on the information front after, for example, the armed attack on Ukraine’s ships in the Kerch Strait, shows that the Kremlin consistently carries out its long- term "brainwashing" strategy. Only when it got worse in the West, it was turned to the internal audience because what else if not the intimida- tion by the intervention of natovci (this is the word which is being used in order to mock the soldiers and civilians of NATO countries) would best gather the folk around dictator who is losing the popularity. Photo credits: "Trident Juncture 2018" crew, www.flickr.com www.flickr.com 2018" crew, Juncture "Trident credits: Photo

December 2018. No 7. 15 The discount is applicable only upon presentation of a service National Defence System employees card.Special (soldiers, civil servants and employees Conditions and applicable discounts may change. working under an employment contract) There are additional conditions. * Expositions are free of charge to the Lithuanian Soldiers of the Permanent Mandatory (LMA)** cadets, Permanent Mandatory Initial Military Service (PMIMS) Initial Military Service soldiers serving in the LMA, and soldiers from the Gediminas Headquar- ters Battalion (GHB). Coordinate with the regional Conscription and recruiting service de- Members of the Lithuanian partment.*** Riflemen’s Union Due to a match of the football club “Atlantas” coordinate with the Grand Duke**** Butigeidis Dragoon Battalion's S5 division of the Motorized Infantry Bri- Lithuanian soldiers gade “Samogitia”. Due to a match of the basketball club “Neptūnas” coordinate with the National Defence Volunteer Force’s S5 division of the Samogitia district 3rd team. Due to a match of the football club “Sūduva” coordinate with the Lithu- Soldiers of the National Defence Volun- anian Grand Duke Vytenis General Support Logistics Battalion’s S5 division. teer Forces ***** The discount is applicable to persons who serve or have served in the Lithuanian Armed Forces, also to those who are in the prepared personnel NATO soldiers reserve of the Lithuanian Armed Forces (for the entire study period both for the first and second cycle studies). The discount is applicable on February 16, March 11, July 6, and Negotiation issues November****** 23.

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Assault Rifle: EVERYTHING STARTED FROM THE CARTRIDGE lready preparing for the revenge for the defeat in the First World War, the Third Reich sought to rearm its The Beginning Atroops so that it would be far superior to po- tential rivals. Of course, German light weapons THOSE WHO ARE NOT INTERESTED IN HISTORY OF WEAPONS designers have drawn attention to the concept OFTEN TAKE AN ASSAULT RIFLE AS A NATURAL GIFT. THEY DO of a new type of bullet. NOT EVEN IMAGINE THAT THERE WERE SUCH TIMES WHEN THE The reason for the research in this field can MASS OF SOLDIERS WAS ARMED WITH SIMPLE MULTIPLE CARBINES be described simply: the two main types of the light infantry weapons then dominat- RELOADABLE BY HAND. AND IT WAS JUST OVER HALF A CENTURY ed in the armed forces — a rifle designed AGO. HOW DID THIS NEW TYPE OF WEAPON APPEAR AND WHAT IS for firing with powerful 7,92x57 mm ITS EVOLUTION IN EUROPE? cartridges and a , firing 9x19 mm cartridges. Both of them had its benefits and disadvantages. A rifle nition. The cartridge of a handgun was too tics would be designed for this type of weapon. or a carbine could not match a high- weak to shoot several hundred meters away, In 1940 the most suitable option of the several speed firing submachine gun, and the and the cartridge of a rifle was too power- experimental variants, which was created in the latter had not such precise accuracy ful to be used in an automatic "Polte Armaturen-und-Maschinenfabrik A.G." and power when shooting at longer weapon. The excessive recoil company, was chosen. Bureaucrats of the Ar- distances. One soldier could not be would have adversely effect mament Board were confused for a while, call- armed for both types of weapons on the accuracy of firing ing this innovation the cartridge of either an at one time. The question naturally with automatic fire; besides, automatic carbine or a handgun, until finally arose: is it possible to match a high- the automatic mechanism it was chosen to call it a short cartridge (de. speed firing and a large shot distance? would not have sustained Kurzpatrone). Since 1942 mass production of The practical solution to this such a power for long. So this 7.92 × 33 mm cartridge with a pointed-end problem in the history of the firearm the first task was to create bullet was started. would have meant a victory, equiva- an intermediate cartridge The cartridge was powerful enough, light lent in its meaning to the invention of which optimal characteris- weighted, and its bullet flew quite straightfor- the smokeless gunpowder. This dilemma could have been The intermediate bullet (on the right) allowed to create a weapon which combines the solved only by a new type of ammu- good features of a rifle and a handgun-machine-gun.

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ward when targeting up to half a kilometer. It has kept its fighting features to a distance of one kilometer. The path for a new type of weapon was open. Early and classical constructions of H. Schmeisser: Mkb.42(H) and StG44. A HEAVY SUBMACHINE GUN BECOMES AN ASSAULT RIFLE In parallel, a new weapon was be- ing developed — from conception to mass production. The Armament Board was hoping that the new weapon, which at that time was called the heavy (de. Schwere Maschinenpistole), for the infantry would serve as a usual rifle, submachine gun, couple of years. At that time, a simi- and in terms of fire power, will even compen- lar contract was concluded with sate the lightweight machine gun. the company "Walther", which submit test batches (200 units) of new prod- While the ammunition was developed, submitted its version approxi- ucts named MKb.42(H) and MKb.42(W). Un- in the spring of 1938, the Armament Board mately after half year — in the fortunately, at that time "Walther" could only made an agreement with Hugo Schmeisser’s beginning of 1941. The results of provide one and "C. G. Haenel" — no more company "C. G. Haenel", commissioned to weapon who was made in a rush were satisfac- than fifty examples, but both manufacturers implement this project. Soon the weapon tory, therefore it was being improved through- have ensured that mass production will be able was renamed the automatic carabiner (de. out the whole year. The military campaign in to begin before the end of the year. These plans Maschinenkarabiner, MKb). The first test copy the East dictated its conditions, and in Febru- were not destined to come true — after the of- was submitted for evaluation less than after a ary 1942, both companies were ordered to ficial delivery and testing firing, the Armament Board supplemented the list of requirements, and unforeseen interruptions also appeared: "Walther" was not able to properly prepare the production line, and its competitor had prob- lems with subcontractors. The only positive thing was that at that time, in terms of the new weapon, the new name assault rifle (de.Sturmgewehr ) began to dominate. There is a hypothesis that himself gave this name during the de- livery, but it’s probably just a historical legend. In other sources, the opposite is being said: that the dictator at the beginning was against the creation of a new type of weapon, fearing that in this case many existing weapons would be underestimated, and the Armament Board, presenting the MKb to the authorities of the Reich, positioned it as MP43A, i.e. presented it as submachine gun in order to avoid any un- wanted attention. Anyway, at the beginning of 1943, a test batch of assault rifles, under the command of Minister of Armaments Albert Speer, was sent to the East Front. A lot of them went to the "Viking" department. The soldiers’ feedback was good, Shmeisser’s design appeared to be somewhat heavier, but more reliable, and his model was chosen as the base option — it was left to correct some of the minor disadvantag- es. Later the weapon for various bureaucratic peripetias was being marked as MP43, MP44, and eventually StG44, but its essential design remained basically unchanged. We can con- Traveling in time: StG44 Waffen-SS in the hands of a soldier and... Syrian combatant. ceive of it as a structurally successful weapon,

December 2018. No 7. 19 Special

known not only for its new features, but also mass production. From June 1943 to April 1945, ac- Parliament’s defender. The StG44 cording to H. Schmeisser himself, up to 42 4000 is clearly visible on the side with new assault carbines were manufactured (includ- a non-standard, perhaps self- ing not only the ones who was manufactured by made steelyard, which is most likely either a relic of war or a the "C. G. Haenel", but also by the "Erfurter Mas- requisition of a film studio. chinenfabrik" (ERMA), "Steyr-Daimler-Puch A.G.", and "Sauer & Sohn"). However, the con- stant lack of ammunition and the fact that StG was started to be manufactured too late prevented him from influencing the course of the war. By the way, before the war was over, the trophy StGs were al- ready being used by both anti-nazi and anti-soviet movements’ fighters, including the participants of the Lithuanian Freedom Fights. War for the Stur- mgewehr was not over even after the 1945s...

THE WAR IS OVER? BUT NOT THE STG44! It seems that after the Reich capitulated, the history of Sturmgewehr could be ended. How- ever, after nazism was liquidated in Germany and the country was divided it did not refuse this

weapon. The remainingStG44s in the eastern sec- tor received the MPi.44 index and was distributed to newly formed force organizations. The National People’s Army (the German Democratic Republic (GDR) Army) used them for a shorter period (until they were replaced by GDR’s AK versions) and the GDR remained in the People’s Police until 1962. A certain amount of StG was also in other dominions of the former Reich, for example, in the socialist countries such as and . In the latter, air paratroopers were armed with Ger- man Sturmgewehrs until the 1980. There was even a cartridge production (the manufacturer was "Prvi Partizan"). Of course, ideologically, this was not actually compatible with the use of the "nazi weapon" in the defence of socialism, especially after the East Partisans of Kęstutis district brothers Stanislovas Milkintas-Riteris/ (on block received the "most advanced in the world" the left) and Juozas Milkintas-Maršalis, armed withStG44 . When the occupation AK. However, efforts were made to simply not to prolonged, later these weapons began to miss ammunition. pay public’s attention to it, and if available, a sig-

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nificant proportion ofStG’s were transferred mark; it was just the beginning of The ball-locked lock was supposed to become a part of a later assault-rifle’s to various “national liberation movements” in the path. The Weapons Research construction. the Middle East, Africa and Asia. It is strange Institute and Weapons Develop- to see in photographs, for example, a Viet Cong ment Group belonging to Maus- fighter holding a classicShmeisser’s work, but er’s gun factory which was run by even bigger unusual events could have tak- O. Lossnitzer, was creating various already existing assault rifle it had to en place in colonial Algeria, where both the potential projects until 1945. The be distinguished by a more precise French legionnaires and the Algerian rebels so-called 37th department was mechanism. It was thought that for had StG... The former Yugoslavian and Czech working with the light weapons. this purpose it would be possible to StGs which were in the Middle East later mi- Here since 1936 he constructor adapt the roller-locked, similar to the grated across the region. They were seen not L. Vorgrimler was working. O. Loss- MG42 machine gun, using a short gas only in the hands of the members of Palestine nitzer, noticed this talented engi- piston for a loading impulse. He creat- Liberation Organization, but also during the neer at the Krupp’s factory and in- ed this mechanism together with col- both Gulf campaigns, as well as in the ongoing vited him to his institute. league W. Stähle, later he made some Syrian conflict. For example, in the 2012 video, At first L. Vorgrimler was in- changes. The result was an automatic fighters of the brigade "Al-Tawhid" armed with volved in the development of avia- mechanism with a semi-locked lock, these weapons were captured. These facts show tion machine guns, later he worked which was marked with the index not only the astonishing vitality of the work on a new machine gun MG45’s Gerät 06 (H) — from the German of Shmeisser, but also the fact that a successful project. One of his most interest- word halbverriegelt (en. half-locked"). weapon does not have nationality and is supe- ing works is "Device 06" (de. Gerät StG45 had more advantages — al- rior to any ideology... 06). It was a prototype of the ex- though it looked clumsy, it was lighter, perimental automatic carabiner, better balanced and more ergonomic. "DEVICE 06" AND ITS CREATOR which had to replace the very re- In addition, its production costs were Although strange, even when the war was cent StG44. The finished work of lower (only 45 Reichsmarks, while reaching its end, the Germans looked forward. L. Vorgrimler was supposed to be the StG44 cost was 70 Reichsmarks). StG44 did not have to be an eternal bench- called MP45 or StG45. From the A little bit later based on its construc- tion, the version StG45(M) and even a short version with a flip steelyard were fore- seen and modified (such a decision forStG44 was structurally impossible). However, the "Device 06" and its modifications did not be- come a real weapon — just before the end of the war, only a test batch of components was made for not more than thirty weapons.

FORWARD TO THE WEST: CEAM AND CETME After the capitulation of Germany, the Mauser’s factory was taken over by French. The 37th department became under control to the French Armament Study and Production Board (fr. Direction des Etudes et Fabrication d’Armement, DEFA), and in 1946–1948 the French moved the entire production complex to Mulhouse in the area of Alsace and renamed it to the Mulhouse Armament Research Center (fr. entre d’Etudes et d’Armement de Mulhouse, CEAM). L. Vorgrimler, Löffler and other construc- tors started working on a new job at the cen- ter — the French Army wanted to have its own assault carbine. TheStG45 was chosen as the prototype, but soon the French cut off a new 7.65 × 35 mm cartridge production line, giving the preference to the American .30 cartridge. The Löffler’s prototype was select- Experiments of L. Forgrimler, whose mass production did not ed as the base version, named CEAM Modèle make it to start on time. 1950. However, the further development of this model was discontinued for economic

December 2018. No 7. 21 Special

Disassembled StG45: exploratory photo of Americans.

Especiales, CETME). Here L. Vorgrimler sub- 5,56x45 mm cartridge. The result wasModelo mitted a new projectLV-50 adapted to the old L, which was accepted to the armory in 1984. 7.92 × 33 mm cartridges. It encouraged for The CETME assault carbines can be con- and political reasons — the Indochinese War further work. sidered a creative continuation of the German and NATO standardization procedures. Löf- The Spanish had their ownM53 (7.92x40 school. StG45 concepts have been imple- fler still put his efforts by developing weapons mm) at the time and it was not difficult to adapt mented and refined, composition and design for 7.5 × 54 mm and 7.62 × 51 mm NATO the existing structure. This is how the automatic improved, many details have been started to cartridges, testing not only the classic, but carbine Modelo 2 was made. Unfortunately, the be not milled, but stamped — technological also the bullpop construction. Around 1960s M53 was quickly replaced by the unified NATO simplicity of production and economy have he returned to his homeland and joined the cartridge. The new cartridge turned out to be emerged (let’s recall that about 40% of metal "Rheinmetall" concern. Soon the CEAM was too powerful for weapon designs that have al- used to get into the production on StG44). reorganized and afterwards abolished. ready been designed, and CETME took a com- L. Vorgrimler’s construction at CETME was Designed weapons were left to history, and promise: formally, the cartridge remained stan- used by the Spanish Armed Forces until 1999, the French moved to MAS production. dard, but the weight of its gunpowder cartridge when they were replaced by a licensed G36 At the same time, L. Vorgrimler’s biography and bullet was reduced. For this cartridge, the automatic carbines. was developing in different way. In the 1950s constructor’s bureau led by L. Vorgrimler de- (other sources mention that a year earlier), veloped ETME Modelo A — a really successful THE CIRCLE CLOSES: BACK TO he leftCEAM and emigrated to Spain (what version of the post-war assault carbine, which GERMANY a remarkable difference, compared to the fate was immediately accepted to the armory and The SpanishModelo 2 drawn the atten- of, for example, German weapon developers since 1957 its mass production began. Already tion of the State Border Service (de. Bundes- H. Shmeisser or K. Horno who entered the in 1958 appeared the slightly improved Modelo grenzschutz) of Federal Republic of Germany Soviet-controlled sector!). Here he was kindly B appeared, and in 1964 — Modelo C, which (FRG). However, in 1956, the intention to welcomed by the state-owned company — already was able to shoot conventional NATO arm the border guards with Spanish produc- Center of Special Materials Technical Studies cartridges. At the same time, attempts were tion was canceled, and the Belgian FN FAL (es. Centro de Estudios Técnicos de Materiales made to apply the CETME to the low-caliber (G1) was bought instead. But the newly-

French assault-rifle CEAM is a post-war construction of L. Forgrimler.

22 Lithuanian Military Digest Special

The early G3 assault-carbine was almost nothing different from CETME. Later, the manufacturer made the design and materials more modern.

CETME, unlike CEAM, was awarded with recognition. This is an early version of CETME.

formed ordered a test batch of zations, at least 18 manufacturing licenses CETME. The soldiers decided that it was more were given. The Germans themselves used it suitable than the Swiss SIG SG510 (G2) and until 1997 which means four decades! Even the American AR10 (G4). About the 1957 now, this weapon remains in the reserve of the the government of FRG received the Spanish Bundeswehr. license for CETME automatic carbines. Their The assault carbines continue to evolve. production was supposed to be carried out by Matching the first and later examples of auto- the Germen company "Heckler & Koch" (by matic carbines shows a steady evolution and the way, which was also established by the for- a gradual improvement in design. Undoubt- mer engineers of the Mauser’s factory). And edly, in the history of the assault carbine, more the CETME 1958 model was the basis of the constructors and their attempts to implement original H & K (G3). In January 1959, the this idea in one way or another are also exist- Bundeswehr officially accepted theG3 to its ing. However, it is inappropriate to forget that armory. Initially, the weapon looked quite old the main conceptual solutions to this weapon fashioned — a wooden steelyard, perforated have already been resolved during the World handguard. Later, other modifications were War II... created — G3A3 with polymeric and G3A4 with telescopic metal steelyard; its rear sights, Darius Sutkus fire suppressors etc. were also improved. Com- mercially, the weapon was very successful — it Photo credits: MoD, guns.com, zib-militaria.de, was used by about 40 countries’ force organi- thefirearmblog.com, modernfirearms.net, flicr.com.

AK4 — a Swedish modification of G3 in the hands of Lithuanian soldier.

December 2018. No 7. 23 Photo credits: Sgt. Spc. Ieva Budzeikaitė Ieva Sgt. Spc. credits: Photo

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