Key Facts
| Current Title: |
| Valstybes Sienos Apsaugos Tarnyba |
| English Title: |
| Lithuanian State Border Guard Service |
| Abbreviation: |
| SBGS |
| First Established: |
| 1992 |
| ICAO Code: |
| ? |
| Country: |
| Lithuania |
| Status: |
| Active |
History
Narrative Summary
A Frontier Guard Service was legally created on 8 November 1990, under the Ministry of Defence, and began operations on 19 November. Soviet security forces resisted the presence of the new force with an escalating campaign of harassment and victimisation. During the summer of 1991 several Lithuanian border guards were actually murdered by Soviet security personnel.
The Frontier Guard Service was renamed as the State Border Guard Service, with effect from 6 August 1992. A small Aviation Unit with three former civilian Ka-26 helicopters was established not long afterwards. On 18 July 1994 the State Border Guard Service officially became the Border Police Department of the Ministry of the Interior. In February 2001 the Government decided to reorganise the border police into the State Border Guard Service at the Ministry of the Interior. The Aviation Unit received it’s only fixed wing aircraft in the same year. In 2002 a major upgrade of the Service’s aviation assets was launched, with five helicopters being ordered from Eurocopter over the next five years. The last was delivered in November 2006.
Key Dates
| 8 November 1990 | Frontier Guard Service created. | |
| 6 August 1992 | FGS renamed State Border Guard Service. | |
| 18 July 1994 | SBGS moved from Ministry of Defence to Ministry of the Interior and renamed Border Police Department. | |
| 1 May 2001 | Border Police reorganised and renamed State Border Guard Service. |
Current Status
Lithuanian Border Guard helicopters are used primarily for border surveillance and law enforcement missions.
Future Plans
No procurement plans known.
Markings
National Insignia
Current — Historical
Aircraft Serial Numbers
Lithuanian Police helicopters and aircraft now carry civil registrations. The Kamovs initially carried a single digit number, prefixed by the letter H-, but this was later replaced by a two-digit number starting with a zero.
Aircraft
Aircraft Designations
None – Manufacturers designations used.
Current Aircraft Inventory
Table of Current Service Aircraft
All-Time Aircraft Used List
All-Time Table of Aircraft Used
Aircraft NOT Used
False reports of aircraft on order or in service – none known.
Organisation
Main Headquarters
Vilnius.
Organisational Structure
All helicopters and aircraft are based at Paluknys.
Current Unit Assignments
Table of Current Unit Assignments
Historical Unit Assignments
List of Historical Unit Assignments – to be added.
All-Time Flying Units List
Not applicable.
Air Bases
Current Air Bases
All helicopters and aircraft are operated from Paluknys, near Vilnius.
All-Time Air Bases Used List
In addition to the main base, here are also a number of smaller airports and airfields around the country which are sometimes used by the Border Guard.
Military Air Bases Listing – to be added.
More Information
Books
Lithuanian Military Aviation Bibliography – to be added.
Magazines
To be added.
Websites
Official Lithuanian Border Guard webpage