Lithuania orders Saab MSHORAD air defence system

Saab has announced a significant order from the Lithuanian Ministry of Defence (MoD) for its Mobile Short Range Air Defence (MSHORAD) solution, according to a press release.

Deliveries are scheduled to take place between 2025 and 2027.

The order is part of a framework agreement between Saab, the Swedish Defence Materiel Administration (FMV), and the Lithuanian MoD. This agreement allows Lithuania to procure Saab’s mobile short-range air defence missile solution, RBS 70 NG.

The package includes Mobile Firing Units, Mobile Radar Units, a Command and Control (C2) System, a training package, and the RBS 70 NG trainer. Saab will integrate MSHORAD into JLTV vehicles manufactured by Oshkosh before delivering them to Lithuania.

“We are proud to continue to support the air defence of Lithuania. MSHORAD is our response to the new threats on the battlefield. Saab’s wide expertise makes us able to deliver everything from radar and firing units as well as our command- and control system; the result is the most modern and capable mobile short-range air defence solution on the market,” said Görgen Johansson, head of Saab’s business area Dynamics, as quoted in the news release.

Lithuania’s Minister of National Defence, Laurynas Kasčiūnas, highlighted the importance of the new system: “MSHORAD is designed to ensure the protection of certain facilities, areas and critical infrastructure. The advantage of this system is mobility, so it is an extremely necessary system that will significantly strengthen the capabilities of the Lithuanian Armed Forces. We are currently using the older generation RBS 70 air defence system and Bolide missiles.”

The MSHORAD system includes the Mobile Radar Unit based on the Giraffe 1X radar, the Mobile Firing Unit based on the RBS 70 NG, all connected through Saab’s GBAD C2.