The Lithuanian Armed Forces continues increasing truck fleet. Double crew cab and medical role Unimog U5000 trucks have been officially received at the Lithuanian Armed Forces service depot in Kaunas. Representatives of Austria’s EMPL Fahrzeugwerk and Germany’s Daimler Trucks AG have presented to the Lithuania Armed Forces the symbolic key as the truck acquisition project kicked off several years ago continues. The Defence Materiel Agency under the Ministry of National Defence signed a contract in September this year on acquisition of additional 51 Unimog U5000 trucks through the NATO Support and Procurement Agency (NSPA).
“The leading NATO agency, NSPA, which is responsible for international support to acquisitions and their support, is proud to be able to complete this vital project with the Lithuanian Armed Forces and is prepared to collaborate again,” said NSPA representative Mr. Ozcan Gumustekin.
“We signed the Unimog U5000 procurement contract this September and today we already welcome these modern trucks highly favoured by our troops here in Kaunas. The Lithuanian Armed Forces currently operates approx. half a thousand of such vehicles, however, the consistent provision for our troops must not halt at this,” said Minister of National Defence Laurynas Kasčiūnas.
The vehicles will be used to ensure logistical provision, personnel transportation, medical evacuation and special personnel tasks. The contract supplement came based on the 2022 contract signed between the Defence Materiel Agency under the MoD and the German Daimler Trucks AG manufacturer via the NATO Support and Procurement Agency. In total, over 170 Mercedes-Benz Unimog U5000 trucks have been purchased on the basis of the supplemented contract since 2021. Lithuania’s contract is worth EUR 47 million. The Unimog U5000 trucks are robust all-terrain vehicles suitable for bitumen and gravel roads, as well as up to 1.2 depth fording. The ability of crossing water obstacles is particularly important in providing logistical supplies to difficult locations during exercises.
The Daimler Trucks AG and EMPL Fahrzeugwerk-manufactured vehicles are procured as modernisation of the Lithuanian Armed Forces continues and truck fleet is updated. Trucks are one of the most used types of vehicles in the military and therefore in high demand. The batch of additional 5-tonne payload Mercedes-Benz Unimog U5000 trucks is expected to be fully delivered still this year. The Unimog is a Daimler Truck line of multi-purpose, highly offroad capable AWD vehicles with Power take-off (PTO) driveshafts that since 1948 can be used with additional equipment in the roles of tractors, light trucks and lorries, for snow plowing, in agriculture, forestry, rural firefighting, in the military, even in rallying and as recreational vehicles
