YIT Lietuva has been awarded a contract worth approximately €30 million ($34 million) by Lithuania Defence Services (LDS) to design and build a Leopard 2A8 tank production and maintenance facility in the Kaunas Free Economic Zone. The facility will support the assembly, maintenance, and servicing of Leopard 2A8 main battle tanks and other heavy military vehicles for the Lithuanian Armed Forces. Construction is set to begin in August and conclude by November 2027, with YIT Lietuva responsible for delivering the nearly 10-hectare site under a design-build agreement. The project is expected to generate around 100 jobs, including 70 manufacturing and 30 administrative positions. The first Leopard 2A8 assembled at the plant is anticipated to roll off the production line in late 2028. The Leopard tank family is produced by European defense company KNDS. In 2022, KNDS Deutschland and Rheinmetall Landsysteme established Lithuania Defence Services as a joint venture to provide maintenance, repair, and logistics support for NATO military vehicles across Lithuania and the Baltic region. Lithuania’s Leopard 2A8 Acquisition In December 2024, Lithuania signed a €950 million ($1.08 billion) agreement with KNDS Deutschland to procure 44 Leopard 2A8 main battle tanks. The purchase supports the creation of new armored battalions while enhancing interoperability with NATO allies already operating the Leopard platform. Lithuania selected the Leopard 2A8 over the US M1 Abrams and South Korea’s K2 Black Panther in 2023. The 11-meter tank is operated by a four-person crew and is armed with a 120 mm L55 smoothbore gun, a machine gun, a multi-purpose grenade launcher, and a remotely controlled weapon station. It can also be fitted with advanced protection systems against armor, RPGs, mines, and improvised explosive devices. Powered by a 1,500-horsepower MTU engine, the Leopard 2A8 reaches speeds of up to 60 km/h and offers a range of approximately 400 kilometers. Its advanced systems include thermal imaging, day-and-night vision cameras, a laser rangefinder, cooling systems, and a 20-kilowatt onboard power supply.
