The Lithuanian Land Forces (LLF) form the backbone of the country's defence force, capable of acting as an integral part of NATO forces. Lithuanian Land Forces consist of one brigade

Brigade

A brigade is a major tactical military formation that is typically composed of two to five battalions, plus supporting elements depending on the era and nationality of a given army and could be perceived as an enlarged/reinforced regiment...

, the Engineer

Engineer

An engineer is a professional practitioner of engineering, concerned with applying scientific knowledge, mathematics and ingenuity to develop solutions for technical problems. Engineers design materials, structures, machines and systems while considering the limitations imposed by practicality,...

 Battalion, and the National Defence Volunteers.

Structure

The Iron Wolf Mechanised Infantry Brigade

Iron Wolf Mechanised Infantry Brigade

Motorised Infantry Brigade "Iron Wolf" is the core unit of the Lithuanian Army and forms the country's contribution to NATO collective defence...

 makes up the core of the Land Forces, and includes two mechanized

Mechanized infantry

Mechanized infantry are infantry equipped with armored personnel carriers , or infantry fighting vehicles for transport and combat ....

, two motorized battalions, an artillery

Artillery

Originally applied to any group of infantry primarily armed with projectile weapons, artillery has over time become limited in meaning to refer only to those engines of war that operate by projection of munitions far beyond the range of effect of personal weapons...

 battalion and support battalion, named after Lithuanian grand dukes as the tradition of the Lithuanian Armed Forces goes.

Juozas Vitkus Engineer Battalion is responsible for mine clearance, the construction of pontoon bridges, unexploded ordnance detonation tasks, underwater engineering, and participation in search and rescue

Search and rescue

Search and rescue is the search for and provision of aid to people who are in distress or imminent danger.The general field of search and rescue includes many specialty sub-fields, mostly based upon terrain considerations...

 operations. The Explosive Ordnance Disposal Platoon is ready to participate in international operations. Starting in 2008, the Lithuanian Armed Forces launched a 10-year-long project continuing mine cleaning on Lithuanian territory of explosives left after the First and Second World War, and in former soviet military bases.

As an integral part of the Land Forces, the National Defence Volunteers have been developing since the beginning of the national movement for independence

Independence

Independence is a condition of a nation, country, or state in which its residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory....

. The volunteers act smoothly together with the Allies during military operations and have been assigned new missions: to augment the regular forces, to deploy individual units and specific capabilities for international operations, to assist host nation support and to support the civilian authorities.

Units

Iron Wolf Mechanised Infantry Brigade

Iron Wolf Mechanised Infantry Brigade

Motorised Infantry Brigade "Iron Wolf" is the core unit of the Lithuanian Army and forms the country's contribution to NATO collective defence...

:

King Mindaugas Mechanised Infantry Battalion

Grand Duke Algirdas Mechanised Infantry Battalion

Grand Duchess Birutė Motorised Infantry Battalion

Grand Duke Kęstutis Motorised Infantry Battalion

General Romualdas Giedraitis artillery battalion

General Romualdas Giedraitis artillery battalion

The General Romualdas Giedraitis Artillery Battalion, equipped with 105mm howitzers, was founded in December 2000, under a joint Lithuanian-Danish project - LITART...

Duke Vaidotas Forward Support Battalion

Juozas Vitkus Engineer Battalion

Lithuanian National Defence Volunteer Forces

Equipment

In reforming the Armed Forces, most attention and financial resources have been directed to the development of the Land Forces. In bringing them up to NATO standards, current efforts focus on upgrading equipment and armaments, enhancing their operational effectiveness, and combat training. The standard service assault rifle

Assault rifle

An assault rifle is a selective fire rifle that uses an intermediate cartridge and a detachable magazine. Assault rifles are the standard infantry weapons in most modern armies...

 of the Lithuanian Armed Forces is the Heckler & Koch G36

Heckler & Koch G36

The Heckler & Koch G36 is a 5.56×45mm assault rifle, designed in the early 1990s by Heckler & Koch in Germany as a replacement for the 7.62mm G3 battle rifle. It was accepted into service with the Bundeswehr in 1997, replacing the G3...

 and the standard pistol

Pistol

When distinguished as a subset of handguns, a pistol is a handgun with a chamber that is integral with the barrel, as opposed to a revolver, wherein the chamber is separate from the barrel as a revolving cylinder. Typically, pistols have an effective range of about 100 feet.-History:The pistol...

 is the Glock 17. The Lithuanian Land Forces are also equipped with machine gun

Machine gun

A machine gun is a fully automatic mounted or portable firearm, usually designed to fire rounds in quick succession from an ammunition belt or large-capacity magazine, typically at a rate of several hundred rounds per minute....

s, including the GPMG MG-3, the FN MAG

FN MAG

The FN MAG is a Belgian 7.62 mm general-purpose machine gun, designed in the early 1950s at Fabrique Nationale by Ernest Vervier. It has been used by more than 80 countries, and it has been made under licence in countries such as Argentina, Egypt, India, Singapore, the United Kingdom and the...

, and the 12.7mm (.50 cal.) M2 Browning machine gun. They also employ AT-4

AT-4

AT-4 may refer to:* AT4, a Swedish unguided one-shot anti-tank weapon.* AT-4 Spigot, a Soviet guided anti-tank missile.* AT-4 Hawk U.S. Army biplane advanced trainer of 1927...

 and Carl Gustav

Carl Gustav

Bofors Carl Gustaf AB is a Swedish armaments firm, now owned by Bofors.Carl Gustafs Stads Gevärsfaktori was founded in 1812 as a state arsenal...

 anti-tank grenade launchers, HK GMG high-velocity grenade launchers, and low-velocity AG-36 under-the-barrel grenade launchers, in addition to light and heavy mortars

Mortar (weapon)

A mortar is an indirect fire weapon that fires explosive projectiles known as bombs at low velocities, short ranges, and high-arcing ballistic trajectories. It is typically muzzle-loading and has a barrel length less than 15 times its caliber....

 and M101 howitzer

M101 howitzer

The 105 mm M2A1 howitzer was the standard light field howitzer for the United States in World War II, seeing action in both European and Pacific theaters. Entering production in 1941, it quickly entered the war against the Imperial Japanese Army in the Pacific, where it gained a reputation...

s. Army use high-technology Lithuanian-made tactical automated commanding and controlling informational systems (TAVVIS).

Reserves

Lithuanian Land Forces are formed from professional military servicemen and volunteers. On 2008 the minister of national defence of Lithuania

Lithuania

Lithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the biggest of the three Baltic states. It is situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, whereby to the west lie Sweden and Denmark...

 has signed a law that holds conscript calling to the army as Lithuania creates a professional army. National defence is based on reserve forces and mobilisation forces. New minister plans to increase national defence capabilities by making all males from 18 to 24 take 7 week military basic training. After that the person will be added to the military reserves.

International missions

Lithuania participates in international missions in Kosovo

Kosovo

Kosovo is a region in southeastern Europe. Part of the Ottoman Empire for more than five centuries, later the Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija within Serbia...

, Afghanistan

Afghanistan

Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...

 and Bosnia. The main force is in Afghanistan. Right now there are more than 200 soldiers serving on foreign soil. Government plans to increase the number of troops serving in international operations in 2009 to 300. Mainly they will send more special operation forces.

Location	|Size
Afghanistan Afghanistan Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...	ISAF International Security Assistance Force The International Security Assistance Force is a NATO-led security mission in Afghanistan established by the United Nations Security Council on 20 December 2001 by Resolution 1386 as envisaged by the Bonn Agreement...	268
Bosnia	EUFOR-ALTHEA	20