In Lithuania, the Lithuanian Armed Forces are responsible for the defense of the country’s interests, sovereignty, and territory, fulfilling Lithuania’s commitments to NATO and European security, and contributing to UN international peacekeeping efforts; Russia is Lithuania’s primary security focus, which has only increased since the Russian seizure of Crimea in 2014 and subsequent full-scale attack on Ukraine in 2022; Lithuania has been a member of NATO since 2004 and is reliant on the Alliance as the country’s security guarantor; it is actively engaged in both NATO and EU security, as well as bilaterally with allies such as the other Baltic States, Germany, Poland, the UK, Ukraine, and the US; the Lithuanian military has participated in NATO and EU missions abroad and regularly conducts training and exercises with NATO and EU partner forces; it hosts NATO forces, is a member of the UK-led Joint Expeditionary Force, and contributes troops to a multinational brigade with Poland and Ukraine; Lithuania participated in its first UN peacekeeping mission in 1994

the Land Forces form the backbone of the country’s defense force; the active Land Forces comprise a mechanized infantry brigade and a motorized infantry brigade; they are supplemented by the part-time National Defense Volunteer Forces, which are organized into six district-based territorial units; since 2017, Lithuania has hosted a German-led multinational NATO ground force battlegroup as part of the Alliance’s Enhanced Forward Presence initiative

Lithuania has no combat aircraft but has a ground air defense unit, and NATO has provided air protection for Lithuania since 2004 through its Baltic Air Policing mission; NATO member countries that possess air combat capabilities voluntarily contribute to the mission on four-month rotations; NATO fighter aircraft are hosted at Lithuania’s Šiauliai Air Base; Lithuania’s Naval Forces have small patrol vessel and mine warfare squadrons; the Special Operations Forces have air, ground, and naval units for missions such as counterterrorism, direct action, hostage rescue, military assistance, and reconnaissance (2024)