{"id":70156,"date":"2024-12-17T13:42:10","date_gmt":"2024-12-17T13:42:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/uncategorized\/2024\/12\/17\/lithuania-pushes-leopard-2a8-tank-acquisition-under-new-government\/"},"modified":"2026-08-20T12:34:41","modified_gmt":"2026-08-20T12:34:41","slug":"lithuania-pushes-leopard-2a8-tank-acquisition-under-new-government","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/global\/europe\/2024\/12\/17\/lithuania-pushes-leopard-2a8-tank-acquisition-under-new-government\/","title":{"rendered":"Lithuania pushes Leopard 2A8 tank acquisition under new government"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">WARSAW, Poland \u2014 Four days after she was sworn into office, Lithuania\u2019s defense minister, Dovil\u0117 \u0160akalien\u0117, signed an agreement to purchase 44 Leopard 2A8 tanks during her Dec. 16 official visit to Germany.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Over the course of her visit to Berlin, \u0160akalien\u0117 met with her German counterpart, Boris Pistorius, with whom she discussed issues related to the two countries\u2019 defense cooperation. These include the heavy maneuver brigade of 4,800 personnel that the German armed forces, the Bundeswehr, is to deploy to Lithuania next year. The move is designed to strengthen NATO\u2019s eastern flank in the aftermath of Russia\u2019s invasion of Ukraine.<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/global\/europe\/2024\/10\/15\/dutch-to-buy-tanks-for-more-than-1-billion-add-kongsberg-air-defense\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"186\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/GettyImages-1259091077.jpg.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">Dutch to buy tanks for more than $1 billion, add Kongsberg air defense<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">The Dutch military is reactivating tank formations thought to be obsolete before Russia&#039;s invasion of Ukraine in early 2022.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThe agreement on the acquisition of Leopard 2 tanks is the largest [military] contract in the history of Lithuania,\u201d \u0160akalien\u0117 was quoted in a statement released by her ministry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThis is a critically important stage in the modernization of our military and strengthening regional security. These tanks will open up opportunities to strengthen the integrity and interoperability of the Lithuanian and German armed forces,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The value of the forthcoming acquisition was not disclosed by the Lithuanian ministry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u0160akalien\u0117 was appointed to her post in Prime Minister Gintautas Paluckas\u2019 cabinet following Lithuania\u2019s Oct. 27 general election. The vote was won by the Lithuanian Social Democratic Party, for which she is also a lawmaker. Shortly before the election, the State Defence Council, Lithuania\u2019s top defense decision-making body, authorized \u0160akalien\u0117&#8217;s predecessor Laurynas Kas\u010di\u016bnas to initiate the acquisitions of Leopard 2A8 tanks and CV90 infantry fighting vehicles for the nation\u2019s army.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Manufactured by KNDS and BAE Systems H\u00e4gglunds, respectively, both types of tracked vehicles are to become part of Lithuania\u2019s new Infantry Division comprising two battalions.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The envisioned purchase will constitute the Lithuanian military&#8217;s biggest-ever purchase, officials said, though no price tag was given.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":118221,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":46,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":[]},"categories":[160,46,11,14,36],"tags":[8614,8633],"coauthors":[3389],"class_list":["post-70156","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-daily-news-roundup","category-europe","category-global","category-land","category-newsletters","tag-germany","tag-lithuania"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"RH4GFUC3EFEFDE7NEASPJ4L5UM","arc_canonical_url":"\/global\/europe\/2024\/12\/17\/lithuania-pushes-leopard-2a8-tank-acquisition-under-new-government\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented By:"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.0 (Yoast SEO v28.1) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Lithuania pushes Leopard 2A8 tank acquisition under new government - Defense News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The envisioned purchase will constitute the Lithuanian military&#039;s biggest-ever purchase, officials said, though no price tag was given.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Lithuania pushes Leopard 2A8 tank acquisition under new government\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The envisioned purchase will constitute the Lithuanian military&#039;s biggest-ever purchase, officials said, though no price tag was given.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/global\/europe\/2024\/12\/17\/lithuania-pushes-leopard-2a8-tank-acquisition-under-new-government\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Defense News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2024-12-17T13:42:10+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-08-20T12:34:41+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Jaroslaw Adamowski\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Jaroslaw Adamowski\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"1 minute\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\n\t    \"@context\": \"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\n\t    \"@graph\": [\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"Article\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/global\\\/europe\\\/2024\\\/12\\\/17\\\/lithuania-pushes-leopard-2a8-tank-acquisition-under-new-government\\\/#article\",\n\t            \"isPartOf\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/global\\\/europe\\\/2024\\\/12\\\/17\\\/lithuania-pushes-leopard-2a8-tank-acquisition-under-new-government\\\/\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"author\": {\n\t                \"name\": \"migration\",\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"headline\": \"Lithuania pushes Leopard 2A8 tank acquisition under new government\",\n\t            \"datePublished\": \"2024-12-17T13:42:10+00:00\",\n\t            \"dateModified\": \"2026-08-20T12:34:41+00:00\",\n\t            \"mainEntityOfPage\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/global\\\/europe\\\/2024\\\/12\\\/17\\\/lithuania-pushes-leopard-2a8-tank-acquisition-under-new-government\\\/\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"wordCount\": 289,\n\t            \"commentCount\": 0,\n\t            \"publisher\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/#organization\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"image\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/global\\\/europe\\\/2024\\\/12\\\/17\\\/lithuania-pushes-leopard-2a8-tank-acquisition-under-new-government\\\/#primaryimage\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"thumbnailUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/GettyImages-1402974061.jpg.jpg\",\n\t            \"keywords\": [\n\t                \"germany\",\n\t                \"lithuania\"\n\t            ],\n\t            \"articleSection\": [\n\t                \"Daily News Roundup\",\n\t                \"Europe\",\n\t                \"Global\",\n\t                \"Land\",\n\t                \"Newsletters\"\n\t            ],\n\t            \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t            \"potentialAction\": [\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"CommentAction\",\n\t                    \"name\": \"Comment\",\n\t                    \"target\": [\n\t                        \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/global\\\/europe\\\/2024\\\/12\\\/17\\\/lithuania-pushes-leopard-2a8-tank-acquisition-under-new-government\\\/#respond\"\n\t                    ]\n\t                }\n\t            ]\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"WebPage\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/global\\\/europe\\\/2024\\\/12\\\/17\\\/lithuania-pushes-leopard-2a8-tank-acquisition-under-new-government\\\/\",\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/global\\\/europe\\\/2024\\\/12\\\/17\\\/lithuania-pushes-leopard-2a8-tank-acquisition-under-new-government\\\/\",\n\t            \"name\": \"Lithuania pushes Leopard 2A8 tank acquisition under new government - Defense News\",\n\t            \"isPartOf\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/#website\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"primaryImageOfPage\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/global\\\/europe\\\/2024\\\/12\\\/17\\\/lithuania-pushes-leopard-2a8-tank-acquisition-under-new-government\\\/#primaryimage\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"image\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/global\\\/europe\\\/2024\\\/12\\\/17\\\/lithuania-pushes-leopard-2a8-tank-acquisition-under-new-government\\\/#primaryimage\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"thumbnailUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/GettyImages-1402974061.jpg.jpg\",\n\t            \"datePublished\": \"2024-12-17T13:42:10+00:00\",\n\t            \"dateModified\": \"2026-08-20T12:34:41+00:00\",\n\t            \"description\": \"The envisioned purchase will constitute the Lithuanian military's biggest-ever purchase, officials said, though no price tag was given.\",\n\t            \"breadcrumb\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/global\\\/europe\\\/2024\\\/12\\\/17\\\/lithuania-pushes-leopard-2a8-tank-acquisition-under-new-government\\\/#breadcrumb\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t            \"potentialAction\": [\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"ReadAction\",\n\t                    \"target\": [\n\t                        \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/global\\\/europe\\\/2024\\\/12\\\/17\\\/lithuania-pushes-leopard-2a8-tank-acquisition-under-new-government\\\/\"\n\t                    ]\n\t                }\n\t            ]\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"ImageObject\",\n\t            \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/global\\\/europe\\\/2024\\\/12\\\/17\\\/lithuania-pushes-leopard-2a8-tank-acquisition-under-new-government\\\/#primaryimage\",\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/GettyImages-1402974061.jpg.jpg\",\n\t            \"contentUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/GettyImages-1402974061.jpg.jpg\"\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"BreadcrumbList\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/global\\\/europe\\\/2024\\\/12\\\/17\\\/lithuania-pushes-leopard-2a8-tank-acquisition-under-new-government\\\/#breadcrumb\",\n\t            \"itemListElement\": [\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"ListItem\",\n\t                    \"position\": 1,\n\t                    \"name\": \"Home\",\n\t                    \"item\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/\",\n\t                    \"ad_zone\": \"home\"\n\t                },\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"ListItem\",\n\t                    \"position\": 2,\n\t                    \"name\": \"Global\",\n\t                    \"item\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/global\\\/\",\n\t                    \"ad_zone\": \"global\"\n\t                },\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"ListItem\",\n\t                    \"position\": 3,\n\t                    \"name\": \"Europe\",\n\t                    \"item\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/global\\\/europe\\\/\",\n\t                    \"ad_zone\": \"europe\"\n\t                },\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"ListItem\",\n\t                    \"position\": 4,\n\t                    \"name\": \"Lithuania pushes Leopard 2A8 tank acquisition under new government\"\n\t                }\n\t            ]\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"WebSite\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/#website\",\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/\",\n\t            \"name\": \"Defense News\",\n\t            \"description\": \"Covering the politics, business and technology of defense | Defense News\",\n\t            \"publisher\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/#organization\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"potentialAction\": [\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"SearchAction\",\n\t                    \"target\": {\n\t                        \"@type\": \"EntryPoint\",\n\t                        \"urlTemplate\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"\n\t                    },\n\t                    \"query-input\": {\n\t                        \"@type\": \"PropertyValueSpecification\",\n\t                        \"valueRequired\": true,\n\t                        \"valueName\": \"search_term_string\"\n\t                    }\n\t                }\n\t            ],\n\t            \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\"\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"Organization\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/#organization\",\n\t            \"name\": \"Defense News\",\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/\",\n\t            \"logo\": {\n\t                \"@type\": \"ImageObject\",\n\t                \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\n\t                \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/defensenews-logo-white.png\",\n\t                \"contentUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/defensenews-logo-white.png\",\n\t                \"caption\": \"Defense News\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"image\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"\n\t            }\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"Person\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1\",\n\t            \"name\": \"migration\",\n\t            \"image\": {\n\t                \"@type\": \"ImageObject\",\n\t                \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=gcf4cb6ee0ec29e49e7a963234e4340ec\",\n\t                \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\n\t                \"contentUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\n\t                \"caption\": \"migration\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/author\\\/migration\\\/\"\n\t        }\n\t    ]\n\t}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Lithuania pushes Leopard 2A8 tank acquisition under new government - Defense News","description":"The envisioned purchase will constitute the Lithuanian military's biggest-ever purchase, officials said, though no price tag was given.","robots":{"index":"noindex","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Lithuania pushes Leopard 2A8 tank acquisition under new government","og_description":"The envisioned purchase will constitute the Lithuanian military's biggest-ever purchase, officials said, though no price tag was given.","og_url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/global\/europe\/2024\/12\/17\/lithuania-pushes-leopard-2a8-tank-acquisition-under-new-government\/","og_site_name":"Defense News","article_published_time":"2024-12-17T13:42:10+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-08-20T12:34:41+00:00","author":"Jaroslaw Adamowski","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Jaroslaw Adamowski","Est. reading time":"1 minute"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/global\/europe\/2024\/12\/17\/lithuania-pushes-leopard-2a8-tank-acquisition-under-new-government\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/global\/europe\/2024\/12\/17\/lithuania-pushes-leopard-2a8-tank-acquisition-under-new-government\/"},"author":{"name":"migration","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/#\/schema\/person\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1"},"headline":"Lithuania pushes Leopard 2A8 tank acquisition under new government","datePublished":"2024-12-17T13:42:10+00:00","dateModified":"2026-08-20T12:34:41+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/global\/europe\/2024\/12\/17\/lithuania-pushes-leopard-2a8-tank-acquisition-under-new-government\/"},"wordCount":289,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/global\/europe\/2024\/12\/17\/lithuania-pushes-leopard-2a8-tank-acquisition-under-new-government\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/GettyImages-1402974061.jpg.jpg","keywords":["germany","lithuania"],"articleSection":["Daily News Roundup","Europe","Global","Land","Newsletters"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/global\/europe\/2024\/12\/17\/lithuania-pushes-leopard-2a8-tank-acquisition-under-new-government\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/global\/europe\/2024\/12\/17\/lithuania-pushes-leopard-2a8-tank-acquisition-under-new-government\/","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/global\/europe\/2024\/12\/17\/lithuania-pushes-leopard-2a8-tank-acquisition-under-new-government\/","name":"Lithuania pushes Leopard 2A8 tank acquisition under new government - Defense News","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/global\/europe\/2024\/12\/17\/lithuania-pushes-leopard-2a8-tank-acquisition-under-new-government\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/global\/europe\/2024\/12\/17\/lithuania-pushes-leopard-2a8-tank-acquisition-under-new-government\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/GettyImages-1402974061.jpg.jpg","datePublished":"2024-12-17T13:42:10+00:00","dateModified":"2026-08-20T12:34:41+00:00","description":"The envisioned purchase will constitute the Lithuanian military's biggest-ever purchase, officials said, though no price tag was given.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/global\/europe\/2024\/12\/17\/lithuania-pushes-leopard-2a8-tank-acquisition-under-new-government\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/global\/europe\/2024\/12\/17\/lithuania-pushes-leopard-2a8-tank-acquisition-under-new-government\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/global\/europe\/2024\/12\/17\/lithuania-pushes-leopard-2a8-tank-acquisition-under-new-government\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/GettyImages-1402974061.jpg.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/GettyImages-1402974061.jpg.jpg"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/global\/europe\/2024\/12\/17\/lithuania-pushes-leopard-2a8-tank-acquisition-under-new-government\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/","ad_zone":"home"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Global","item":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/global\/","ad_zone":"global"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Europe","item":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/global\/europe\/","ad_zone":"europe"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":4,"name":"Lithuania pushes Leopard 2A8 tank acquisition under new government"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/#website","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/","name":"Defense News","description":"Covering the politics, business and technology of defense | Defense News","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/#organization","name":"Defense News","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/defensenews-logo-white.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/defensenews-logo-white.png","caption":"Defense News"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/#\/schema\/person\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1","name":"migration","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=gcf4cb6ee0ec29e49e7a963234e4340ec","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"migration"},"url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/author\/migration\/"}]}},"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"Defense News","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews","push-errors":false,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/GettyImages-1402974061.jpg.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/70156","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=70156"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/70156\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":70162,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/70156\/revisions\/70162"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=70156"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=70156"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=70156"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=70156"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}