A Modern History Of Pistols In Lithuania’s Land Forces

Take a look at new and old photos of Lithuania’s armed forces, and you’ll see quite a diversity of equipment. Of course, it’s not unique to Lithuania, as any military will change its equipment over time. However, Lithuania, as well as the other Baltic countries, have had their arsenals not only change because of technological improvements, but because of their regained independence from the Soviet Union and the broad shift towards western weapons.

This aritcle’s focus is on pistols used by Lithuania’s forces.

Post-Soviet Pistols (1990s to 2000s)

When it comes to pistols, the post-Soviet Lithuanian military was armed with two types:

• The Soviet Tokarev TT-33: A 7.62×25mm, short recoil, semi-automatic
• Makarov PM: A 9×18mm semi-automatic blowback

The Tokarevs were used until around 2004 and then phased out and mostly sold as surplus after more modern options became available. The Makarovs were also used until around 2004 and many were transferred to law enforcement and later sold as surplus.

Moving towards NATO (early 2000s)

Due to Lithuania regaining its independence, western nations were generous enough to help rebuild its military. This is a common theme across many types of weapons and all three Baltic nations. And so the first non-Soviet pistol used by Lithuania’s armed forces was ​​the Browning Hi-Power – a 9×19mm, short recoil, semi-automatic. Acquired from Belgium, these were second-hand military surplus donations that were used until the early 2000s.

Throughout this same period, we know that the military also used the Czech ČZ-75. These were procured in small numbers to meet the need of having NATO-compatible handguns. As Lithuania grew its post-Soviet economy and moved closer towards NATO membership, it proceeded to purchase weapons that used NATO-standard ammunition. 

The Colt M1911A1, a .45 ACP, short-recoil, semi-automatic was used throughout the 2000s and 2010s. This pistol was actually Lithuania’s first NATO-compatible pistol, acquired alongside the M14 rifle. Since around 2020, it has been phased out of the regular forces and transferred to reserves.

Also during the 2000s, the Lithuanian military purchased the Austrian Glock 17 – a 9x19mm short-recoil semi-automatic. The pistol was a further attempt to standardize modern 9mm pistols across all units. 

This sidearm is slowly being phased out by our final pistol type: The Heckler & Koch SFP9. These first appeared in Lithuania’s forces in the 2010s, and are replacing the Glock 17 as standard service pistol.

A new standard (2020 and beyond)

A 2020 press release by the Lithuanian ministry of defence stated:

“In order to achieve new quality in the Lithuanian Armed Forces and ensure provision of modern soldier equipment, the Lithuanian Ministry of National Defence has concluded an agreement with the German company Heckler & Koch and will provide its troops with pistols SFP9 SF Paddle. These pistols were chosen as the ones that best meet the needs of the Lithuanian Armed Forces.”

The ministry said that the decision to purchase new pistols for Lithuanian troops was made in order to abandon using different calibre pistols and change over to the use of uniform calibre 9×19 mm pistol ammunition, leaving still usable ones for reserve and replacing weapons that are running out of resources.

The value of the concluded agreement was said to total about 1.57 million euros, providing for the possibility of purchasing additional pistols if necessary. It also includes training of personnel to operate the newly acquired weapons.

The SF P9 was selected from models of thirteen manufacturers as the most suitable for the needs of the Lithuanian Armed Forces. 

It was said that the process of selecting a pistol model included test firing in various conditions – different types of shooting ranges, in the tactical field, and intervention building.

We also know that in late 2020, a Lithuanian Science and technology magazine published several articles highlighting reasons behind the HK pistol being selected instead of a weapon from Glock.

A representative of Lithuanian Defense Resource Agency was quoted as saying:

 “Out of 13 models that participated, Glock was one of the participants, but did not submit model 17 for the testing”.

After being asked about the cost, the official stated: “with Glock’s Generation 5 models the prices aren’t that far apart from H&K, the German entry had stellar performance in adverse conditions as well as superior ergonomics” noting ambidextrous controls as being one of the key advantages.