Lithuanian construction company YIT Lietuva has secured a contract worth approximately 30 million euros ($34 million) from Lithuania Defence Services (LDS) to build a Leopard 2A8 tank production and maintenance plant in Lithuania’s Kaunas Free Economic Zone.
The plant will support the assembly and maintenance of Leopard 2A8s and other heavy military equipment for the Lithuanian Armed Forces.
Construction is scheduled to begin in August and be completed by November 2027. Under the design-build contract, YIT Lietuva will be responsible for both the design and construction of the nearly 10-hectare (25-acre) site.
The project is expected to create up to 100 jobs, including 70 production positions and 30 administrative roles. The first Leopard 2A8 tank assembled at the plant is expected to roll off the production line in late 2028.
European defense company KNDS manufactures the Leopard family of tanks. Its German subsidiary, KNDS Deutschland, and Rheinmetall Landsysteme established LDS as a joint venture in 2022 to create a maintenance, repair, and logistics hub for NATO military vehicles in Lithuania and across the Baltic region.
“This project is significant not only for our company, but for Lithuania as a whole. It will contribute to strengthening the country’s defense infrastructure and will play an important role in ensuring the technical readiness of the Lithuanian Armed Forces in the future,” YIT Lietuva Managing Director Kęstutis Vanagas said.
Lithuania’s Leopard Procurement
Lithuania signed a 950-million-euro ($1.08 billion) contract with KNDS Deutschland in December 2024 to acquire 44 Leopard 2A8 main battle tanks.
The acquisition is part of Vilnius’ efforts to establish new armored battalions and strengthen land-force interoperability with NATO allies, many of which already operate the Leopard 2.
Lithuania selected the German-made tank over the US M1 Abrams and South Korea’s K2 Black Panther in 2023.
The Leopard 2A8 is an 11-meter (36-foot) main battle tank with a crew of four.
It is armed with a 120-millimeter L55 main gun, a machine gun, a multi-purpose grenade launcher, and a remote-controlled weapon station, and can be equipped with protection kits against armored threats, rocket-propelled grenades, mines, and improvised explosive devices.
Powered by a 1,500-horsepower MTU engine, the Leopard 2A8 reaches speeds of up to 60 kilometers (37 miles) per hour and has a range of 400 kilometers (249 miles).
It also features day- and night-vision cameras, thermal imaging, a laser rangefinder, cooling systems, and a 20-kilowatt onboard power supply.
