Estonia and Lithuania haven’t forgotten how they suffered during their forced membership in the Soviet Union.

Ever since his stunning White House comeback, much ado has been made about U.S. president Donald Trump’s renewed calls for NATO members to spend 5 percent of their gross domestic product (GDP) on defense.

And there are encouraging signs that at least some NATO members are starting to answer this wake-up call. As The National Interest reported on February 19, 2025, even miserly Belgium—which spent a measly 1.1 percent of its GDP in the 2023 calendar year—is getting with the program.

But two NATO members in particular stand out for getting on the metaphorical 5 percent gravy train: Baltic states Lithuania and Estonia agreed a month ago to meet that threshold. This is not surprising, as these two countries haven’t forgotten how they suffered during their forced membership in the Soviet Union during World War II (which the Russians still call “The Great Patriotic War”) and the Cold War alike.

With that in mind, now is as good a time as any to look at the current status of the Estonian and Lithuanian armed forces.

The Lithuanian Armed Forces in brief

The Lithuanian Armed Forces is comprised of the Lithuanian Land Forces, the Lithuanian Naval Force, the Lithuanian Air Force, and the Lithuanian Special Operations Force. According to a 2022 report by the International Institute for Strategic Studies, the total combined manpower of these branches amounts to 23,000 active-duty personnel, 14,150 paramilitary personnel, and 28,000 active reservists.

Lithuanian Land Forces (LLF) weapons include the Panzerhaubitze (PzH) 2000 155mm howitzer—which German manufacturer KNDS Deutschland declares to be “the world’s most modern Howitzer”—and infantry weapons such as the German-made Heckler & Koch (HK) G36 5.56x45mm rifle and the Austrian-designed Glock 17 9mm pistol as standard-issue. Meanwhile, the LLF will be upgrading with its purchase of eight American-made M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) and forty-four German-made Leopard 2 main battle tanks.

According to the World Directory of Modern Military Aircraft (WDMMA), the Lithuanian Air Force (LTAF) has a grand total of fifteen aircraft in its fleet:

LK KOP has no plans to purchase any fourth- or fifth-generation jet fighters anytime soon, though it is purchasing the vaunted AIM-120 AMRAAM (Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missile, nicknamed the “Slammer”).

As I learned back in May 2024 during an event at the Hudson Institute in Washington, DC titled “Northern Europe, NATO, and the War in Ukraine: A Conversation with Lithuanian Minister of Defense Laurynas Kasčiūnas,” the Lithuanian government signed a contract to buy four U.S.-made UH-60M Black Hawk helicopters, which, combined with the requisite training and equipment, is worth $213 million. (20 percent of the Lithuanian military’s procurements come from the United States.)

As for the Lithuanian Naval Forces, True Lithuania reports that they have a total of eleven warships in the fleet. These include one Norwegian-made Vidar-class minelayer, three British-made Hunt-class minesweepers/mine hunters, four Danish-built Flyvefisken-class patrol boats, and one Swedish-built Storebro SB90E patrol boat.

Estonian Armed Forces in brief

Per the official website of the Estonian Defense Forces (EDF): 

“The wartime composition of the EDF consists of more than 43,000 positions, of which 4,200 are filled by active-duty members of the Defense Forces and the Defense League (Kaitseliit) in permanent readiness and 38,800 are filled by reserve forces and members of the Defense League who have taken on military obligations. To strengthen the operational structure, a supplementary reserve of 4,000 members has been formed.”

The EDF—under the overall command of Major General Andrus Merilo—is divided into the Estonian Land Forces, Estonian Navy, Estonian Air Force, and the aforementioned Defense League (which is considered to be a paramilitary outfit).

As is true of the Lithuanian Land Forces, the Estonian Land Forces does not have any main battle tanks but does have the HIMARS. Besides the HIMARS, the most powerful war machines the Estonian army has are South Korean-made K9 Thunder self-propelled howitzers, Swedish-made BAE Systems Hägglunds CV90 infantry fighting vehicles, and Javelin anti-tank missile systems. Infantry small arms are a combination of domestically upgraded variants of the Swedish 7.62 mm Automatkarbin 4 (AK4) and Israeli 5.56 mm Galil-AR assault rifles, and 9x18mm Makarov PM and the 9x19mm HK USP semiautomatic pistols (the former apparently being leftovers from the Soviet Republic days).

The Estonian Air Force has a whopping seven aircraft according to WDMMA: two of the aforementioned L-39s (used as advanced jet trainers), three Robinson R44 helicopter trainers, and two Polish-built PZL M28 Skytruck twin-engine prop-driven Short Take-off and Landing (STOL), multi-purpose utility aircraft.

According to Defense Advancement, “The Estonian Navy focuses on mine countermeasures and ensuring maritime security in the Baltic Sea. Its fleet includes Sandown-class minehunters and various patrol vessels. The Navy collaborates closely with NATO allies to maintain regional maritime security and participates in joint exercises to enhance interoperability.”

The Estonian Navy has three of the Sandown-class ships, which are made in the United States by VTG (headquartered in Chantilly, Virginia). Among the patrol boats is the Raju (P6732), which holds the distinction of being the first battery-powered ship in the Estonian Navy.

About the Author: Christian D. Orr

Christian D. Orr was previously a Senior Defense Editor for National Security Journal (NSJ) and 19FortyFive. He is a former Air Force Security Forces officer, Federal law enforcement officer, and private military contractor (with assignments worked in Iraq, the United Arab Emirates, Kosovo, Japan, Germany, and the Pentagon). Chris holds a B.A. in International Relations from the University of Southern California (USC) and an M.A. in Intelligence Studies (concentration in Terrorism Studies) from American Military University (AMU). He has also been published in The Daily Torch, The Journal of Intelligence and Cyber Security, and Simple Flying. Last but not least, he is a Companion of the Order of the Naval Order of the United States (NOUS). If you’d like to pick his brain further, you can ofttimes find him at the Old Virginia Tobacco Company (OVTC) lounge in Manassas, Virginia, partaking of fine stogies and good quality human camaraderie.

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