On February 11, 2025, the Lithuanian Ministry of National Defense announced that army conscripts had, for the first time, conducted live-fire training with German-made PzH 2000 self-propelled artillery systems. This marks a significant expansion of Lithuania’s defense capabilities, as noted by the Army Recognition website.
The report only confirmed such a training exercise took place without providing any additional details. Nonetheless, Defense Express assumes that this practice is part of a larger effort by Lithuania to refine its mobilization training mechanisms for conscripts, with heavy equipment in particular.
Read more: What Strange russian Artillery, Spotted at the Front, Initially Considered 45-mm M-42 Anti-Tank Guns from WWII
This is especially relevant given that, under current conditions, the PzH 2000 is the most powerful weapon in Lithuania’s arsenal. The country has 16 such self-propelled guns at its disposal.
Worth noting, Lithuania is among the relative newcomers of the PzH 2000 operators club. Vilnius contracted 21 vehicles from Germany in 2015 — 16 designated for combat, two for training, and three for spare parts. The first deliveries began in December 2018 but were only completed by April 2022.
Incidentally, what stands out in this context is that the Bundeswehr continued selling off its stockpiles even after russia’s war against Ukraine began in 2014, even though these arms deals, at least formally, still contributed to strengthening NATO’s eastern flank.
Earlier,Defense Express pointed out that among the Baltic states, Latvia is the only one with tanks, though its inventory consists of just three old T-55s gifted in the 2000s by the Czech Republic. This adds to the broader picture of how Western nations, for years, neglected the state of their military capabilities.
Read more: Ukrainian Artillerymen About PzH 2000: Vacuum Cleaner, Tender Electronics and the "Tenacious Enemy" of this Howitzer
