VILNIUS - Lithuania's plans to acquire two long-range radar systems have given way to a larger procurement of three radars according to an updated plan published by the Ministry of Defense. The increase in Lithuania's radar acquisition plan stems from Russian actions in Ukraine, which have served to heighten the country's sensitivities towards its own security.
The new radars will serve as replacements for Lithuania's technically obsolete Soviet-legacy P-37 and P-18 long-range radars that remain in use with the armed forces. Those radars were manufactured in Russia between 1971 and 1983 and are operated alongside medium-range, mobile TRML-3D/32 radars produced by EADS.
The NATO Communications and Information Agency (NCIA) is carrying out the procurement in coordination with the Lithuanian Ministry of Defense as per a 2007 authorization calling on the agency to acquire new radars that meet NATO standards. The third radar is being purchased under an option included in the sale of the first two radars. The cost of the entire project is estimated at LTL200 million ($81 million) with full deployment at radar posts in Silutes, Prienai and Ignalina near the eastern border with Belarus planned for 2019.