Lithuania to upgrade M577A2 armored command post vehicles.

The Lithuanian Defense Ministry announced on November 28 the awarding of a tender contract to upgrade 22 M577A2 command post vehicles, a variant of the M113 APC. The upgrade will be undertaken by Germany's FFG Flensburger Fahrzeugbau Gesellschaft following the company's down-select under a tender organized by the NATO Support Agency (NSPA). The cost of upgrading the tracked command posts amounted to roughly €1.5 million ($1.7 million). FFG will involve local Lithuanian company UAB Autokurtas in the upgrade program.

M577A2 command post in ambulance version (Picture source: Army Recognition)

Lithuania acquired more than 180 units of M577 armored vehicles from Germany in 2015-2016 as part of larger €58.3 million ($66 million) procurement of 21 PzH 2000 self-propelled howitzers and 10 BPZ2 armored recovery vehicles. The M577 is a derivative of the M113 armored personnel carrier family.

Lithuania plans to take delivery of the 22 upgraded command posts in 2019, whereupon they will be assigned to the General Romualdas Giedraitis Artillery Battalion based in Rukla to act as command and control posts for the PzH 2000 self-propelled howitzers (Panzerhaubitze 2000).