The
President of Lithuania is the
commander-in-chief of the Lithuanian Armed Forces according to the
Constitution of Lithuania.
Ministry of National Defence is directly responsible for the organisation of the defence system.
Chief of Defence () is subordinate to the Minister of National Defence.
Defence Staff () of the Armed Forces is responsible for the preparation of defence and mobilisation plans. The Lithuanian Armed Forces consist of the Lithuanian Land Force, Lithuanian Air Force, Lithuanian Navy, Lithuanian Special Operations Force and other units: during „Allied Spirit 2025“ exercise Support branches of the Armed Forces: •
Training and Doctrine Command; •
Military Commandant's Offices Command; •
Cyber Defence Command; • Logistics Command; •
Military Ordinariate; •
Military Police. Separate units directly subordinated to the Armed Forces Command: • Finance and Accounting Department; •
Grand Duke Gediminas Staff Battalion; •
Lithuanian Armed Forces Headquarters Band. •
Lithuanian Armed Forces Officers Club; • Lithuanian Armed Forces Sports Club (
CISM delegation); • Department of Strategic Communications; • Administration of Lithuanian Military Aviation. Directly subordinated to the
Chief of Defence are the
Special Operations Force and Military Police. The Reserve Forces are under command of the
Lithuanian National Defence Volunteer Forces.
Lithuanian Riflemen's Union is a
paramilitary organization that cooperates with the Armed Forces, but it is not part of them. However, during the
state of war, its armed formations fall under the command of the Armed Forces. The same applies to the
State Border Guard Service and the
Public Security Service.
Land Forces soldiers during „Allied Spirit 2025“ exercise The core of the Lithuanian Land Forces structure is the
Mechanised Infantry Brigade Iron Wolf (MIB "Iron Wolf") consisting of four
mechanized infantry battalions and an
artillery battalion, supported by the
Žemaitija Motorized infantry Brigade, which has three battalions and one artillery battalion as well. The third,
Aukštaitija Light Infantry Brigade, is a reserve formation with active training. Its command, signal and logistic units are manned by professional soldiers. The
Volunteer Forces form another brigade-size force, consisting of six territorial units. Other auxiliary units include
Juozas Vitkus Engineer Battalion and
Juozas Lukša Land Forces Training Center. battery of
General Romualdas Giedraitis Artillery Battalion during an exercise
HIMARS battery during Operation „Baltic Alliance“ The Lithuanian Land forces use equipment compatible with NATO standards. Since 2007, the standard assault rifle is the German
Heckler & Koch G36. Units are supplied with modern variants of anti-tank weapons (
M72 LAW,
Carl Gustaf,
AT4,
FGM-148 Javelin) as well as
man-portable air-defense systems (
PZR Grom,
RBS-70,
FIM-92 Stinger). Modern armoured equipment includes:
Oshkosh L-ATV armoured cars,
Boxer infantry fighting vehicles (local designation IVF "Vilkas") armed with
Spike-LR anti-tank missiles and
PzH 2000 self-propelled howitzers. Lithuanian Land forces have carried out major modernization and acquired more new weapons and heavier armour. Lithuania has been restructuring its armed forces so that one-tenth of the Land Forces could at any given time be deployed for international operations, while half of the Land Forces would be prepared to deploy outside Lithuania's borders. The volunteers have already successfully participated in international operations in the Balkans, Afghanistan and Iraq. In May 2023, the State Defence Council approved the plan to form an army
division, based on the three army brigades. The
1st Division would have enhanced capabilities, including new tank, reconnaissance, engineering and artillery battalions. The initial formation of the LAF was the 2nd transport squadron with the transfer of 20
An-2 aircraft from civilian to military use, with initial basing at the
Barysiai Airport on 27 April 1992. These were joined by four
L-39C Albatros aircraft to be used by the 1st fighter (training) squadron. These were in addition to
Mil Mi-8 helicopters and a short-range transport aircraft
L-410, all of which went through a capital overhaul, upgrade and modernisation in the 2000s.
NASAMS battery during "Joint Silver Arrow 2023" exercise. Following the initial acquisitions, the LAF began its aircraft's modernisation by ordering three
C-27J Spartan transporters in 2006. In 2013, three
Eurocopter AS365 Dauphin helicopters were acquired from France and, in 2020, Lithuania announced an order or four
Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters from the USA. Simultaneously, new medium-range and long-range radars were acquired for the
Airspace Surveillance and Control Command. Air space is patrolled by jet fighters from other
NATO members and they are based in
Zokniai Air Base, near the city of
Šiauliai (see
Baltic Air Policing). The
external border of the European Union (with
Kaliningrad and
Belarus) is patrolled by the Aviation Unit of the Lithuanian
State Border Guard Service which, since the 2000s, uses helicopters
EC-120,
EC-135 and
EC-145.
Navy The Navy consists of the Warship Flotilla, the Sea Coastal Surveillance System, the Naval Logistic Service, Training Center and Maritime Rescue Coordination Center. The flotilla is the core component of the Navy and consists of the Mine Countermeasures Squadron, the Patrol Ships Squadron, and the Harbour Boats Group. The current
Commander in Chief of the Lithuanian Navy is Flotilla Admiral Giedrius Premeneckas. The Naval base and Headquarters are located in the city of
Klaipėda. The Navy uses patrol ships for coastal surveillance. The four newly acquired s replaced the older s and s.
Marine fusiliers From 1 August 2022, in order to eliminate the
coastal and port defense gap and perform other functions assigned to the
marines, the Naval Forces Port and Coastal Defense Service was established and partially formed by merging the
Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) Divers Team and the Naval Forces Logistics Service Security Company into one structure, which includes two infantry (
fusilier) companies. In the process of forming the unit's traditions, the soldiers serving in the unit began to be called marine
fusiliers (
marine infantry), and the service itself is unofficially called the Fusilier Battalion. In April 2025, the Navy announced that the marine unit would be officially renamed the General Kazimieras Nestoras Sapiega Fusiliers Battalion and would continue the traditions of the 7th Fusiliers Regiment.
Special Operations Forces '' deployed in
Afghanistan.|left (YPT) operator during joint
counter-terrorism exercise with
ARAS. The Lithuanian Special Operations Forces of Lithuanian Armed Forces have been in operation
de facto since 2002 and it were established
de jure on 3 April 2008, when amendments of National Defence System organisation and military service law came into force. The Special Operations Forces are responsible for
special reconnaissance,
direct actions, and military support. They have also in charge of other tasks, e.g., protection of VIPs in peacetime. They are formed by the Special Purpose Service, Vytautas the Great Jaeger Battalion and Combat Divers Service. The Special Operations Forces organization is flexible, which makes it easy to form squadrons intended for specific operations and missions. The Special Operations Forces can be called upon inside the territory of Lithuania when
law enforcement agencies lack or do not have the necessary capabilities to react to terrorist attacks. The Special Operations Forces Squadron "Aitvaras" was deployed to
Afghanistan for
Operation Enduring Freedom. From 2005 to 2006 its squadrons were on standby as part of the
NATO Response Force. ==International cooperation==