Rheinmetall breaks ground into the future in Lithuania
by Alexander Welscher
It still needs some imagination, but the more than 100 guests at Rheinmetall’s groundbreaking ceremony on 4 November 2025 in Baigsogala got quite an insight into what the German defense giant is going to build in Lithuania at the construction site of its first ammunition factory in the Baltics. “The Rheinmetall factory, once completed, will serve every soldier under NATO’s flag. It will contribute to a Europe capable of defending itself and controlling its own ammunition supply”, Lithuania's president, Gitanas Nausėda, said in his speech at the festive event that marked the start of the construction and was attended by several high-ranking officials from both Lithuania and Germany.
Rheinmetall CEO Armin Papperger described his company’s new plant as strategically important for both Lithuania and Europe, sending a clear signal of Germany’s commitment to NATO’s eastern flank and the security of its allies. Dubbed the largest defence investment in Lithuania’s history, with a volume of up to 300 million EUR, the construction is set to be completed by the end of 2026. Once in operation, the state-of-the-art facility should be able to produce tens of thousands of 155-millimeter artillery shells every year.
Rheinmetall is also planning to build another artillery plant in neighbouring Latvia in the near future. Construction of the factory that will be similar in design and size to the facility in Lithuania is scheduled to begin next spring, with production set to start around a year later, according to a memorandum of understanding signed by Latvian Prime Minister Evika Siliņa and Papperger on 25 September 2025 in the German city of Hamburg.
Bundeswehr celebrates topping-out ceremony at future Brigade site and opens school for soldiers' families in Lithuania
by Alexander Welscher
The German Army has reached some more milestones on the way towards the permanent deployment of a combat-ready Bundeswehr brigade in Lithuania. Shortly before Christmas, the topping-out ceremony for the staff building at its future military base was held at the construction site for the barracks in Rūdninkai. Celebrated exactly one year after the first groundbreaking, the event on 17 December 2025 was attended by Lithuanian Defence Minister Robertas Kaunas and the commander of the 45th Armoured Brigade of the Bundeswehr, General Christoph Huber.
"Wow. I am deeply impressed by what I have seen here today," Huber said and thanked the construction companies for the "tremendous progress". "These works are of great importance because it will be our home, my home, the home of my soldiers," Germany's highest-ranking soldier in Lithuania said. Defence Minister Kaunas spoke of "a huge step forward for our country and for the deterrence of our region“, commending Germany for taking the lead and responsibility for the security of his country and the region.
In another important and symbolic event in the development of the civilian infrastructure for the Brigade, the German School in Vilnius was officially opened with a ceremony on 30 September 2025. The education facility for soldiers' children is to be the Bundeswehr's largest school abroad, said State Secretary Nils Hilmer from the German Defence Ministry, before cutting the ribbon together with guests from Lithuania and Germany.
The Bundeswehr is building the 45th Armoured Brigade in Lithuania, which is intended to serve the enhanced protection of NATO's eastern flank. The unit was formally commissioned in April and is expected to be fully operational by 2027 with a total strength of 4,800 soldiers and 200 civilian employees.
Talking defense and regional security
by Alexander Welscher
In Latvia two Baltic high-level meetings took place at the end of the year. Both the Presidents and Prime Ministers of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania discussed issues related to defense and regional security during their annual pre-Christmas gatherings in Riga. The Baltic Presidents agreed during their meeting on 4 December that Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania will continue to closely coordinate the implementation of the so-called counter-mobility at their eastern border with Russia and Belarus. This might also include the dismantling of rail links to Russia, although the Baltic heads of states made it clear that it still is an issue under discussion and any decision on this or other measures would be made jointly by all three countries.
The Baltic leaders called on the EU and NATO to continue keeping a strong focus on the security of the region and provide additional resources to strengthen border protection and fight off Russia's hybrid threats and provocations, while jointly acknowledging that the Baltic states' own defence spending will increase to more than 5 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) next year. This common goal was also endorsed by the Baltic Prime Minister, which met a week later on 12 December.
The Baltic heads of government stressed that with their decision to spend 5 percent of GDP on defense, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania are making NATO stronger, as the funds will be used to strengthen national as well as NATO's overall defense capabilities. Just like the Presidents, they also stressed the importance of the unity of the three Baltic states for the security of the region but also called for the need to recognize the economic challenges in the eastern border areas at the EU level.
Looking back on the achievement of this year, the Prime Minister highlighted in their comments the successful decoupling of the Baltic electricity systems from the Russian grid and their synchronisation with the European net. All three of them pointed out that the European-gauge railway project Rail Baltica, as the next major goal, must be achieved in the same way. While acknowledging the challenges to get the pan-Baltic train line ready on time by 2030, the Prime Ministers stressed the opportunities and capacity of the ambitious project to strengthen the country's defense and economic development.
