Eisspeedway

List of equipment of the Latvian Land Forces

This is a list of equipment used by the Latvian Land Forces.

LATPAT camouflage pattern and BEAR-II vest

Personal equipment

The equipment of the Latvian Land Forces troops includes:

  • LatPat, Multi-LatPat and WoodLatPat (Latvian digital camouflage uniform).
  • Norwegian BEAR-II load bearing armor system
  • Kevlar helmets
  • Night vision devices

Infantry weapons

Model Image Origin Variant Type Caliber Details
Pistols
Glock  Austria Glock 17
Glock 19
Glock 21
Glock 26
Semi-automatic pistol 9×19mm Parabellum Standard issue pistol.[1][2][3]
Heckler & Koch P2  Germany HK P2A1 Flare gun 26.5mm Complementary order in 2024[4]
Submachine guns
Heckler & Koch UMP  Germany UMP9 Submachine gun 9×19mm Parabellum Standard issue submachine gun.[1][3]
Heckler & Koch MP5  West Germany MP5A3 Submachine gun 9×19mm Parabellum [3]
Heckler & Koch MP7  Germany MP7A2 PDW

Personal defence weapon

HK 4.6×30mm [3][5]
Shotguns
Remington 870  United States MCS Pump action shotgun 12 gauge [3]
Winchester 1300  United States Pump action shotgun 12 gauge Is going to be replaced.[3]
Mossberg 500  United States Pump action shotgun 12 gauge It is planned to be replaced.[3]
Assault rifles
Heckler & Koch G36  Germany G36V
G36KV
G36KV3
Assault rifle 5.56×45mm NATO Standard issue assault rifle.[1][2][3][6] Complementary order in 2024.[4]
M16  United States M16A1 Assault rifle 5.56×45mm NATO Used by Honour Guard, as ceremonial rifle.[7]
Precision rifles
Heckler & Koch HK417  Germany HK417A2 Designated marksman rifle 7.62×51mm NATO [3][5]
Accuracy International Arctic Warfare  United Kingdom AW Bolt action sniper rifle 7.62×51mm NATO AW variant used to be the standard issue sniper rifle.[1]
Accuracy International AXMC  United Kingdom AXMC Bolt action sniper rifle 8.6×70mm [3]
Accuracy International AX50  United Kingdom AX50 ELR Anti materiel sniper rifle 12.7×99mm NATO [3][5]
PGM Hécate II  France Anti materiel sniper rifle 12.7×99mm NATO Standard issue heavy sniper rifle.[1][2][3]
Barrett M107  United States M107A1 Anti materiel sniper rifle 12.7×99mm NATO [3][5]
Machine guns
FN Minimi  Belgium Minimi Para Light machine gun 5.56×45mm NATO Standard issue light machine gun.[1][2][3]
FN MAG
Kulspruta 58
 Belgium

 Sweden

FN MAG
Kulspruta 58 B
General-purpose machine gun 7.62×51mm NATO [2][3]
M2 Browning  United States

 Belgium

M2HB-QCB Heavy machine gun 12.7×99mm NATO [3][8]
Protocol service weapons
M14  United States Battle rifle 7.62×51mm NATO Used by Honour Guard, as ceremonial rifle.[9]
Lee-Enfield  United Kingdom No.4 MkI* Bolt action rifle .303 British 120 rifles were donated by Canada. Used by Honour Guard, as ceremonial rifle.[10]
Grenade launchers
Heckler & Koch AG36  Germany Under-barrel grenade launcher 40×46mm LV [1][3]
Milkor MGL  South Africa

 Croatia

Metallic RBG-6 Automatic grenade launcher 40×46mm LV Produced initially without license by Metallic d.o.o.[3]
Heckler & Koch GMG  Germany Automatic grenade launcher 40×53mm HV [1][2][3] Complementary order in 2024[4]
Man-portable anti-tank systems
AT4  Sweden Recoilless gun 84 mm Light weight, one-shot, disposable.[2]
Carl Gustav recoilless rifle  Sweden M2
M4
Recoilless rifle 84 mm Re-loadable, fires a variety of ammunition. M2 variant used by the National Guard.[11] 800 Carl Gustaf M2 were donated by Norway.[12] Improved M4 variant on order.[13]
SPIKE  Israel SR
LR I
LR II
ER II
ATGM

Anti-tank guided missile

Modern tripod-mounted launcher, programmable attack, fire-and-forget. Fires several missile types, varying in weight and size as they fly from shorter to longer ranges.[2][3][14]

Military vehicles

Name Image Origin Type Variants Quantity Notes
Armoured fighting vehicles
CVR(T)  United Kingdom Armoured reconnaissance vehicle Scimitar
Sultan
Spartan
Samson
Samaritan
198 116 modernized vehicles in service, plus 7 used for training. 82 additional vehicles on order - to be delivered by 2022.[15][16]
ASCOD  Spain Infantry fighting vehicle ASCOD 2 TBD In 2024, Latvian Ministry of Defense made a decision to acquire ASCOD to replace the CVR(T).[17]
Armoured vehicles
Patria 6×6  Finland

 Latvia

Armoured personnel carrier Patria 6×6 ~256 (~100 delivered) Over 200 vehicles on order, to be delivered 2021–2029.[18][19] The first 4 vehicles received on 29 October 2021. The vehicles are partially produced in Latvia since 2021.[20][21] In November 2024, 56 additional command vehicles were ordered.[22]
Humvee  United States Armoured car M1043A2
M1113
30
12
Ten vehicles donated by the United States in 2005.[23] Possibly 28 more purchased later.[24] Some equipped with HK GMG, M2 Browning and Spike anti-tank guided missile.[citation needed]
Mercedes-Benz G-Class  Austria

 Germany

Armored car (special forces) 290GD 50 [25][26] Second hand from Norway
Amphibious vehicles
Bv 206  Sweden Tracked articulated vehicle (amphibious) Bv 206A
Bv 206F
Donated by Sweden in 2002 and 2003.[27]
Light vehicles
VR FOX  Latvia Fast attack vehicle 1 (30+) Latvian Armed Forces tested 1 VR FOX prototype and in November 2024 Latvian Ministry of Defense made a decision to acquire more than 30 VR FOX vehicles[28]
Polaris RZR  United States Fast attack vehicle MRZR-2
MRZR-4
MV850
62[29] Option for up to 130 vehicles.[30]
Can-Am Outlander  Finland

 Canada

All-terrain vehicle Outlander MAX 650XT 582[31] [32]
Logistics
Mercedes-Benz Unimog  Germany Truck U1300
U5000
120[33]
Scania  Sweden Truck P93
NM154
184
8
134 P93 trucks and 8 NM154 recovery vehicles donated by Norway in 2013. 50 more trucks purchased in 2014.[25]
Engineering equipment
M3 Amphibious Rig  Germany Amphibious bridge layer 2 delivered 2 still to be delivered .[34]
Utility vehicles
Mercedes-Benz G-Class  Austria

 Germany

SUV 240GD
300GDN
+66[35]
12[12]
[25][36]
Land Rover Defender  United Kingdom SUV D110 2 D110 variant used by military police.[37]
Subaru Forester  Japan SUV 23 23 vehicles used by military police [38]
Nissan Navara  Japan SUV ~55 [38]
Peugeot 308   France Car ~50 [38]
Ford Transit Custom  Germany

 Belgium

Light commercial vehicle ~35 [38]

Indirect fire

Model Image Origin Type Caliber Quantity Details
Mortars
GrW 86  Austria Heavy mortar 120 mm Multiple units purchased from Austria in 2017.[39]
m/41D  Finland

 Sweden

Heavy mortar 120 mm 20~ [40]
Self-propelled artillery
M109A5Ö Latvian Army M109 A5o Howitzer  United States

 Austria

Self-propelled howitzer 155 mm

L/39

47 35 howitzers, 10 command and control vehicles and 2 driver training vehicles purchased from Austria in 2017.[41]
Additional 18 howitzers received in 2021.[42] 6 howizers were donated to Ukraine.[43]
M109

Rechenstellenpanzer M109

Latvian Army M109 A5o Howitzer Command and artillery computing station 10
M109 driver training Latvian Army M109 A5o Howitzer Driver training vehicle 2
Rocket artillery
M142 HIMARS  United States MLRS 227 mm 0 (6 on order) In October 2022, Latvian Ministry of Defense announced that the country will acquire 6 systems.[44] The contract was signed in December 2023.[45]

Unmanned aerial vehicles

Model Image Origin Variant Type Role
UAV Factory Penguin C  Latvia Penguin C Fixed-wing UAV

Unmanned aerial vehicle

ISR

Intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance

Long-endurance unmanned aerial vehicles.[46]
AeroVironment RQ-20 Puma  United States RQ-20A Fixed-wing UAV

Unmanned aerial vehicle

ISR

Intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance

3 systems, each having 3 unmanned aerial vehicles.[47]

Anti-ship weapons

Model Image Origin Type Caliber Notes
Naval Strike Missile  Norway Anti-ship/land-attack missile Contract signed in 2023 and the system is planned to be operational in 2027.[48]

Air defence

Model Image Origin Variant Type Details
Short-range air-defence
FIM-92 Stinger  United States FIM-92 Stinger MANPAD

Man-portable air-defence systems

[49] All to be transferred to Ukraine.[50]
PPZR Piorun  Poland MANPAD

Man-portable air-defence systems

Undisclosed number of missiles ordered in 2022.[51]
RBS-70  Sweden RBS-70 NG MANPAD

Man-portable air-defence systems

[52]
Medium-range air defence
IRIS-T  Germany IRIS-T SLM Medium range air defence missile system In May 2023, Estonia and Latvia made a decision to jointly procure medium-range IRIS-T SLM.[53] The contract was signed in November 2023 and the systems are planned to be operational in 2026.[54]
Radars
AN/MPQ-64F1 Sentinel  United States AN/MPQ-64F1 3D air search radar [55]
AN/TPS-77  United States AN/TPS-77
TPS-77 MRR
3D air search radar Used for the Baltic Air Surveillance Network[56]
Hensoldt TRML 4D  Germany Air surveillance and target acquisition radar Radar for the IRIS-T SML air defence system[57]
Saab Giraffe  Sweden Early warning radar [40]

Retired/obsolete equipment

In the 1990s, the Latvian Army and National Guard troops were equipped with leftover Soviet, Romanian and Czechoslovak[58] weapons like the AKM, AK-74, SKS rifles and TT and Makarov pistols, alongside early procurements of CZ 82 pistols from the Czech Republic and Slovakia. In the late 1990s, a gradual switch to the Swedish-made Automatkarbin 4 began, but AK-pattern rifles remained. Today Ak4 rifles are mostly kept in storage.[59] In 1995, the Czechs donated 20 120mm mortars (possibly the vz. 82 PRAM-L) and 24 100 mm vz. 53 field guns.[58]

Retired/obsolete vehicles include:

  • 2 BRDM-2 armored cars (donated by Poland by 1992, mostly used by the Suži Airborne Reconnaissance Battalion of the Land Forces, later used as target practice);[60][61]
  • 5 T-55AM Mérida tanks (donated by Poland in 1999.[62] Three remaining tanks, still used for training purposes, were reported to have come from the Czech Republic in 2000, not Poland.);[63][64]
  • ~12 Terrängbil m/42 KP IFVs (donated around 1994 by Sweden to the Baltic states, retired by the late 1990s or early 2000s; at least one transferred to the State Border Guard).[64][61][65][66]

References

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