JULY, 2018. NO 2 (2). NEWS COOPERATION OF THE LITHUANIAN ARMED FORCES AND THE PANG MARKS THE LASTING PARTNERSHIP WITH THE US Photo credit: Sgt Spc Ieva Budzeikaitė Ieva credit: Sgt Spc Photo TROOPS OF THE UK-LED JEF DEMONSTRATE UNITY WITH LITHUANIAN COLLEAGUES CHIEF OF DEFENCE OF NATO'S PRESENCE GERMANY IN LITHUANIA AMERICAN SOLDIER CLAIMS ON JUNE 25 NEW INSPECTOR OF THE BUNDESWEHR GENERAL EBERHARD ZORN IS TO BE SERVING DRIVEN BY CONDUCTING A VISIT IN LITHUANIA. HE SUCCEEDED GENERAL VOLKER WIEKER THE WARRIOR SPIRIT OF THE IN APRIL. DURING THE VISIT THE GUEST MET WITH THE CHIEF OF DEFENCE STAFF LITHUANIAN GRAND DUKES OF THE LITHUANIAN ARMED FORCES MAJ GEN VITALIJUS VAIKŠNORAS — GEN­ ERALS DISCUSSED REGIONAL SECURITY, STATUS OF THE NATO ENHANCED FOR­ WARD PRESENCE BATTALION BATTLE GROUP IN LITHUANIA AND OTHER TOPICS RELATED TO THE NATO EFP IN LITHUANIA, LITHUANIAN AND GERMAN BILATER­ AL MILITARY COOPERATION, NATO DEFENCE PLANNING. ater Gen E.Zorn visited the Lithu- and its command are deployed by Germany. anian Great Hetman Jonušas Radvila The NATO eFP Battalion Battle Group is Training Regiment in Rukla and met integrated into the Mechanised Infantry Bri- Lwith Commander of the NATO Enhanced gade of the Lithuanian Armed Forces and ex- SPECIAL Forward Presence Battalion Battle Group in ercise together with the Brigade’s soldiers in Lithuania Lt. Col. Wolf Rüdiger Otto, acting its military training programme. PUTIN’S WEAPONS: Commander of the Mechanised Infantry Bri- Germany has made a historically impor- REALITY OR FANTASY? gade Iron Wolf Lt. Col. Aurelijus Motiejūnas, tant contribution to the development of tri- viewed weaponry and equipment of the Bat- lateral Baltic projects (Baltic Peacekeeping talion, and met with German soldiers serving Battalion — BALTBAT, Baltic Naval Squad- with the NATO eFP at the Battalion. ron — BALTRON, Baltic Airspace Surveil- The German-led NATO Enhanced For- lance Network — BALTNET, Baltic Defence ward Presence Battalion Battle Group was -de College — BALTDEFCOL). Advisers from ployed in early 2017 in Lithuania seeking to the Federal Ministry of Defence helped reor- strengthen deterrence and collective defence ganise structures of the Lithuanian Armed in region. Currently roughly 1,400 soldiers Forces according to NATO standards, logis- from Belgium, Croatia, Norway, the Nether- tical system used by NATO militaries was lands, France, Germany, and Iceland are serv- being developed to match Lithuania’s condi- ing in it. Roughly half of the unit’s strength See page 3 Dear readers of the “Lithuanian Military Digest”, Content celebrating the 100th anniversary of Lithuania’s independence, NEWS we, Lithuanians, as well as our country’s guests and allied sol- diers can walk peacefully on this beloved land that have not been CHIEF OF DEFENCE OF GERMANY ON A VISIT stepped by any enemies’ feet for 27 years. We can all breathe the IN LITHUANIA......................................................................................1 freedom. However, even while rejoicing the recovering, rising EU MEMBER STATES TO DEVELOP EUROPEAN CYBER and modernizing country, we are still in a fight every day. Every RESPONSE FORCE PROPOSED BY LITHUANIA................3 citizen of the Western world is being disturbed by the information warfare, every sober-minded person knows that he lives in the COOPERATION OF THE LITHUANIAN ARMED shadow of the threat of an enemy who wants to bring the world FORCES AND THE PANG MARKS THE LASTING back to the times of the past. Since he took power for the first time PARTNERSHIP WITH THE US......................................................4 in 2000, Vladimir Putin — who once called the fall of the Soviet Union “the greatest geopolitical catastrophe of the century” — TROOPS OF THE UK-LED JEF DEMONSTRATE UNITY has aimed to restore Russia’s power on the world stage. WITH LITHUANIAN COLLEAGUES..........................................6 Probably all of us recall when on March 1, V.Putin spoke at the LITHUANIA INVITES NATO TO SPEED UP THE Federal Assembly about “completely new and, of course, having DECISION REGARDING THE HEADQUARTERS NEAR no analogues strategic weapons”. At that time, seeking to prove EASTERN BORDERS OF THE ALLIANCE...............................7 to the Russian people that he remains fit to lead after nearly 20 years in power, the president orated about the armament which THE LARGEST LITHUANIAN SPECIAL FORCES will defeat the world. This pre-election speech, which received a EXERCISE IN THE BALTIC REGION CONCLUDED..........8 lot of discussions in the media and social networks, reminded that LITHUANIA AND POLAND AGREED TO FURTHER Russia has always felt strong and prosperous by fighting and sepa- STRENGTHEN MILITARY COOPERATION........................10 rating from the Western world. Creating a Russian propaganda machine to his people, V.Putin seems to be drawing a dreamed AIR ASSAULT OF F-16 USING LIVE world of fantasies, where everybody who supports this leader’s re- AMMUNITION WAS CONDUCTED AT THE gime can feel invincible and happy, having the magical weapons, EXERCISE "SABER STRIKE"..........................................................11 such as, for example, the “global unlimited range cruise missile” besides them. NATO'S PRESENCE What is the likely option if Putin suddenly would decide to push a so-called nuclear suitcase button, so “the West actually AMERICAN SOLDIER CLAIMS TO BE SERVING DRIVEN hears him”? If the US begins to increase its defensive potential, BY THE WARRIOR SPIRIT OF THE LITHUANIAN can Moscow hope that it will win this competition? GRAND DUKES..................................................................................12 Wish you a pleasant reading, SPECIAL Team of the “Lithuanian Military Digest” PUTIN’S WEAPONS: REALITY OR FANTASY?................................................................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- culation is 300 copies. Printed by the Cartography Center of Lithuanian Military, Muitinės str.4, Domeikava, LT-54359 Kaunas dist. Order GL-365. Photo credits: www.flickr.com credits: Photo 2 Lithuanian Military Digest News EU member states to develop European cyber response force proposed by Lithuania f a major cyber incident strikes as soon as in the coming years, it would be respond- ed to by an international cyber response force.I A Declaration of Intent signed on devel- opment of the Lithuanian-initiated EU Cyber Response Force at a session of the EU Foreign Affairs Council in Luxembourg today has laid a foundation for that. “EU countries have not had the opportunity to address cyber incidents together so far, and in the meanwhile, the attacks are not limited Union European credits: Photo by country borders. Lithuania has taken up the According to the data of the National Cy- Next step — joint continual exercises and pros- role of leadership in proposing first a practical ber Security Centre under the Ministry of Na- pects for the creation of mutual cyber defence solution in strengthening collective defence in tional Defence, the number of cyber incidents tools. cyber space and countering threats in a new is growing annually by one tenth, while cyber The EU cyber defence cooperation project dimension,” Minister of National Defence Rai- investigations reveal their growing sophisti- is led by Lithuania. Seven EU countries — Cro- mundas Karoblis says. cation. Both, Lithuania and other parties of atia, Estonia, France, Finland, the Netherlands, According to Minister, the Declaration of the EU cyber response force projects are con- Romania, and Spain, are participants of the Intent was the first and vital step in the effort cerned about the incidents found in critical in- project, and four more countries — Belgium, towards a closer cooperation of member states frastructures, such as energy, law enforcement, Germany, Greece, and Slovenia, are observers. in the implementation of the project: the docu- and foreign affairs. Such incidents need to be The number of EU members willing to join has ment served as a basis for the legal act that would responded to particularly quickly and a new been increasing rapidly since the launch — the follow and consolidate the commitment. type of preparedness and instruments are re- most recent country to join was Estonia, and Lithuania started an initiative to create the quired. Poland plans to do so in the nearest while. EU Cyber Response Teams that would be As the project is developed, during the first The initiative on cyber response force and formed by specialists from cyber incident in- phase the participating countries are assess- mutual assistance in cyber security launched vestigation and other security institutions of ing technical and legal aspects for operation by Lithuania is one of the 17 project approved the participating countries and rotate on a bi- of such EU cyber teams, analyse the possibili- by EU member states in late 2017 under the annual basis. ties to finance the project from the EU budget. Permanent Structured Cooperation (PESCO). “In reality it would look like this: each par- “This is the most advanced PESCO project ticipant