DECEMBER 2020. NO 12 (31). NEWS FOUR FACTORS TO CONSIDER IN KEEPING NATO RELEVANT NATO'S PRESENCE NFIU – 5 YEARS IN LITHUANIA Flags of all the four armed services flew for the first time am grateful to every soldier for the four armed services of the Lithuanian their contribution to the domestic Armed Forces — Land, Navy, Air, and Spe- support tasks of the Lithuanian cial Operations — were hoisted for the first Armed Forces. I am delighted by your abili- time. The Lithuanian Armed Forces Ho- ty to answer the expectations and trust of the nour Guard Company performed with gun community in the times of the coronavirus salutes and the Lithuanian Armed Forces when everyone needed some military order, Band played at the event. planning, precision and focussing on the The Lithuanian Armed Forces Day cele- SPECIAL goal," acting Minister of National Defence bration date is associated with the first order said in his congratulations on Lithuanian passed by the Government of the Republic of LITHUANIAN MARKED Armed Forces Day. Lithuania on 23 November 1918 concerning Lithuanian Armed Forces Day is celebra- organisation of the Lithuanian Armed Forces. MILITARY WEAPONS. PART II ted on November 23. This year the traditional This year marks the 102nd anniversary of the celebration has been modified by various re-established Lithuanian Armed Forces that coronavirus precautions as Lithuania grap- dates back to the forces of the Grand Duchy ples with the pandemic just like most of the of Lithuania. world does. Most of the traditional commemorations The main accent of the celebration was were cut or replaced in accordance with the unveiling and presentation of the Spe- the coronavirus precautions applied in the cial Operations Forces organisational co- Armed Forces and in line with the Ministry of lours at the formal flag hoisting ceremony Health recommendations this year based on at the Lithuanian Grand Duke Gediminas the pandemic considerations. Headquarters Battalion. Following this MoND information symbolic act all organisational flags of Photo credit: Alfredas Pliadis News Change of rotations of Content NEWS the U.S. Army presence FLAGS OF ALL THE FOUR ARMED SERVICES FLEW FOR THE FIRST TIME.....1 CHANGE OF ROTATIONS OF THE U.S. ARMY PRESENCE...................................................2 NATO NEEDS A STRATEGY FOR THE TECHNOLOGIES...................................................3 FOUR FACTORS TO CONSIDER IN KEEPING NATO RELEVANT...................4,5 GERMAN DEFENSE MINISTRY TARGETS NEW US CHANNEL...............................................6 he 2nd Brigade, 69th Regiment, 2nd Battalion, U.S. Army, has finished exercises and training in Lithuania and are going back FIVE EUROPEAN ALLIES SIGN ON TO to their home base. A new heavy U.S. battalion — 2-8 Cavalry BUILD NATO’S NEXT MEDIUM-LIFT TSquadron — will rotate in instead by mid-December to stay until around HELICOPTER..........................................................7 midsummer of next year. A NEW BOOK ABOUT LITHUANIA IN The outgoing rotation — troops of the nd2 Brigade, 69th Regiment, THE GLOBAL CONTEXT...................................8 2nd Battalion — were training at Pabradė military area from early Sep- tember. They had exercises with Lithuanian, NATO enhanced Forward "BLACK SWANS" AND OTHER Presence Battalion Battle Group soldiers deployed in Rukla in Lithuania over that time. The American force had their own weaponry and equip- CHALLENGES..........................................................9 ment — Abrams tanks, Bradley armoured vehicles. "Defence cooperation between Lithuania and the U.S. stands strong IN SHORT and remains intense, while the U.S. battalion rotations in Lithuania reaf- INTERNATIONAL EXERCISE firm the strength of the Lithuanian-U.S. defence cooperation. U.S. pre- sence, just like NATO presence in Lithuania, remains to be among the IRON WOLF 2020 II............................................10 most critical factors in ensuring security," acting Minister of National Defence Raimundas Karoblis says. NATO'S PRESENCE The U.S. Army rotations deploy as part of Operation Atlantic Resolve of the U.S. Army in the eastern part of the Alliance. It is a reassurance NFIU – 5 YEARS IN LITHUANIA..................12 about the collective defence commitments to NATO allies concerning European security following the aggressive Russian actions in Ukraine. U.S. forces have been rotating in to train in the Baltic States and Eastern SPECIAL Europe since spring 2014. Cooperation with NATO allies has been on a particular increase over LITHUANIAN MARKED MILITARY the recent years and more joint exercises are held, therefore Lithuania WEAPONS. PART II.............................................18 expands military training areas and improves their infrastructure to en- sure that both, our and allied forces are able to train effectively and serve as a deterrent. Additional investments are made to improve military mobility, for instance, a new railhead of Pažeimenė railway line near the Pabradė Training Area was unveiled this spring to facilitate deployment of NATO allies’ equipment and weaponry to Lithuania. The outgoing Military Press Office of Lithuanian Armed Forces Totorių str. 25, LT-01121, Vilnius; U.S. rotation were the first soldiers to test the facility. Phone (370 5) 210 3897, GSM (370 6) 86 94458; fax (370 5) 273 5550; The United States makes investments in adaptation of Lithuanian mili- Email [email protected] tary areas to military needs. Several projects have been already completed on Publisher — Lithuanian Armed Forces. The opinion of editorial office does not necessarily coin- U.S. funds at Pabradė, Rukla, Kazlų Rūda, such as marksman and sniper, light cide with the opinion of the authors. Pictures, manuscripts are not returned and reviewed. Cir- culation is 300 copies. Printed by the Cartography Center of Lithuanian Military, Muitinės str.4, infantry and heavy machine-gun, and infantry fighting vehicle firing ranges, Domeikava, LT-54359 Kaunas dist. Order GL-503. maintenance capability, other training and area upkeep infrastructure. MoND information Photo credit: Alfredas Pliadis 2 Lithuanian Military Digest News NATO needs a strategy for the technologies he incoming Biden administration is expected to reassert ties with Europe, hoping to leverage America’s allies andT partners at NATO in the great power com- petition with China and Russia. As U.S. and European leaders set their collective agenda at the next NATO summit, a top priority should be establishing a NATO framework for emerg- ing and disruptive technologies (EDT). For the United States, it is important that the alliance adapt together to defend against algorithms and bots, as much as bullets and bombs. Europe shares this mindset but differs from the United States on key defense tech is- sues, such as regulation, data, and stakes in na- tional champion companies. To avoid the dan- gerous transatlantic rifts of the last four years, Brussels and Washington must bridge that gap and forge an alliance approach to EDT. ment with industry. A strategic assessment from platforms to create a system of systems. Go- NATO has acknowledged the need to har- function will not be valuable unless industry ing forward, NATO needs this same approach ness the power of such technologies, but cur- leaders are engaged and incentivized. NATO to rapidly develop and deploy emerging defense rent efforts have produced innovation theater, needs to connect to the private sector early and dual-use technologies for conventional and as opposed to fundamental organizational and often, clearly communicating its priorities hybrid conflicts. This involves placing big, trans- change. NATO lags behind in critical areas such and requirements while providing accessible formative bets on critical technologies, such as as 5G, hypersonics, artificial intelligence (AI), opportunities for industry, including non-tra- unmanned air and maritime systems, artificial unmanned systems, and quantum science. ditionals, to readily sell into the alliance. Too intelligence (AI), and hypersonics. In the past, NATO has used frameworks to often national and international defense or- Coordinate with the EU. NATO should bet- get member states to agree on priorities, dedi- ganizations do not provide discernable paths ter leverage its ability to assign capability and cate resources, and empower authorities to act. to revenue for these companies, artificially spending targets to encourage its members to Looking to the next NATO summit, transat- limiting their industrial bases. The long lead innovate. For instance, to complement the 2 lantic leaders should champion an EDT frame- times for these projects are often unattractive percent of GDP defense spending benchmark, work built around four practical pillars: or unfeasible, especially for small companies NATO could mandate that allies invest a cer- Establishing an organic assessment and coor- and start-ups where radical innovation takes tain portion of that into emerging technolo- dination capacity at the strategic level. To fulfill place. To remedy this, the alliance should look gies. It should also rework the 2 percent met- its potential as the transatlantic coordinating tool to the U.S. Department of Defense, which has ric to include civilian investment in dual-use on the security dimensions of EDT, the alliance succeeded in attracting startups and non-tradi- technologies that may fall outside of traditional needs an in-house capability to assess challenges tionals to its ecosystem through rapid awards,