The SBGS reported on Thursday that border guards had received a total of 1,687 G-36 automatic rifles, worth 3.5 million euros, from the Armed Forces this year.
The SBGS received 500 G-36 automatic rifles from the army in early October. Before that, it got 200 more automatic rifles meeting NATO standards.
“From now on, most of the automatic weapons of the SBGS will meet NATO standards. These modern weapons have replaced the border guards’ weapons non-compliant with these standards,” the Service said in a press release.
Until now, most of the SBGS officers have been armed with Russian-made Kalashnikov-type automatic rifles.
SBGS Commander Rustamas Liubajevas has said that the new weapons will cover slightly more than half of border guards’ needs, and added that more than 1,000 automatic rifles should be purchased next year.
Lithuania's border protection force consists of around 3,500 officers.