The ARAS or Lithuanian Police Anti-terrorist Operations Unit ARAS ( lt, Lietuvos policijos antiteroristinių operacijų rinktinė ARAS) is a separate
specialized police unit established in 1991. At first, ARAS's main purpose was to suppress organized crime groups that were widely operating in
Lithuania
Lithuania (; lt, Lietuva ), officially the Republic of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Respublika, links=no ), is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea. Lithuania ...
in 1990s.
In addition, they handled riot suppression, peace keeping, and escort.
In December 2004 the unit was admitted into the
ATLAS Network
Atlas Network, formerly known as the Atlas Economic Research Foundation, is a non-governmental 501(c)(3) organization based in the United States that provides training, networking and grants for libertarian, free-market, and conservative groups ...
of special counter-terrorist police units of the
European Union
The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...
countries.
Structure
ARAS consists of a:
* Command,
* Special Team,
* Explosive Search and Neutralization Division,
* Information, analysis and negotiation Division,
* 2 divisions, one of them located in
KlaipÄ—da
Klaipėda (; ; german: Memel; pl, Kłajpeda; russian: Клайпеда; sgs, Klaipieda) is a city in Lithuania on the Baltic Sea coast. The capital of the eponymous county, it is the third largest city and the only major seaport in Lithuan ...
.
The unit also has specialized reconnaissance, negotiation, sniper, climber and diver groups that are necessary to carry out the main functions ascribed to the unit.
Functions
The main functions of ARAS are to:
* organize, manage and implement special antiterrorist operations inside Lithuania;
* rescue hostages and detain dangerous armed criminals under extreme or high danger circumstances;
* search for and neutralize improvised explosive devices and military explosives, used for terrorist or criminal purposes;
* under their competence participate while performing various operative actions, detaining persons, suspected to have performed or planning to commit a crime;
* collect and analyze information related to terrorist threats, cooperate with professional institutions of other countries in this sphere;
* participate in organizing and implementing plans and programs for antiterrorist measures, and other legal acts establishing terrorism prevention.
Equipment and training
ARAS is provided with modern arms and equipment for successful work. There are modern weapons with special sights,
night vision
Night vision is the ability to see in low-light conditions, either naturally with scotopic vision or through a night-vision device. Night vision requires both sufficient spectral range and sufficient intensity range. Humans have poor night vi ...
equipment, thermo visors, equipment for explosives search, modern equipment for divers, special armour-plated vests, shields and helmets among them.
Nevertheless, all weapons are worthless without competent people. Currently the nucleus of the unit is made up of highly qualified combatants, who have acquired physical and psychological training and are prepared for working under extreme circumstances. Much experience was gained when the officers participated in several courses for special unit response to critical situations organized by the US State Department, which were included in the international program for the
war against terrorism
The war on terror, officially the Global War on Terrorism (GWOT), is an ongoing international counterterrorism military campaign initiated by the United States following the September 11 attacks. The main targets of the campaign are militant ...
. During these exercises they showed good preparation, and received a high evaluation from the organizers of the courses. Officers from the unit participated in many other courses organized not only in the US, but also by law enforcement institutions of other countries.
Equipment
ARAS operators use a variety of modern weapons, including
Heckler & Koch MP5
The Heckler & Koch MP5 (german: Maschinenpistole 5) is a 9x19mm Parabellum submachine gun, developed in the 1960s by a team of engineers from the German small arms manufacturer Heckler & Koch. There are over 100 variants and clones of the MP5, ...
,
G36,
SIG SG 551,
SIG MCX
The SIG MCX is a family of firearms designed and manufactured by SIG Sauer, produced in both selective fire and semi-automatic only models, and features a short-stroke gas piston system, which is inherited from the earlier SIG MPX submachine g ...
,
PGM Ultima Ratio
The PGM Ultima Ratio is a French-designed and manufactured sniper rifle. It uses the 7.62×51mm NATO cartridge but depending on the barrel variant can also be chambered for several other cartridges. The PGM Ultima Ratio is intended to fulfill an ...
,
PGM Hécate II The Hécate II is the standard heavy sniper rifle and anti-materiel rifle of the French Army, sometimes known as the FR-12.7 (french: Fusil à Répétition de calibre 12.7 mm or "12.7 mm calibre repeating rifle"). It is manufactured by PGM Prà ...
,
AWM-F.
Training
Candidates are selected on the basis of "Delta Force" program criteria. Candidates have their biography's thoroughly checked, the age requirement is not younger than 18 and no older than 30 years, priority is given to non-smokers, 5 years of work experience in any other police branch would be advantage. Those who make it through this barrier have to grapple with the psychological and intelligence tests and have to pass the physical preparation check, especially endurance and emotional stability. Only 2-3 men a year make the cut into this elite group.
References
External links
Official websiteLithuanian police website
{{Authority control
1991 establishments in Lithuania
ATLAS Network
Non-military counterterrorist organizations
Police tactical units
Specialist law enforcement agencies of Lithuania