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Romania Submits €10 Billion Military Upgrade Plan to Parliament

(Source: Defense-Aerospace.com; posted March 27, 2023)
By Tina G. Bridge
In addition to 17 F-16AM/BM fighters procured from Portugal, Romania will receive by year-end the remaining of 32 similar F-16s it bought from Norway last year. The aircraft are being modified to Romanian standard, and Romania is spending about $600 million to buy additional AIM-9X and AIM-120D air-to-air missiles to arm them. (USAF photo)

PARIS --- The Romanian Ministry of National Defense earlier this month requested Parliament's approval for the procurement of several weapons systems for a total cost of over 10 billion euros, according to local media reports. Most of the details have been released in several interviews given by Lt. Gen. Teodor Incicaş, the defense ministry’s Director-General of Armaments and Romania's National Armaments Director.

The bulk of the funds are initially planned to finance the acquisition of 41 short- and very short-range missile systems (SHORAD /VSHORAD) worth 4.2 billion euros. The plan is to buy 16 integrated short- and very short-range systems for the Air Force and nine short-range and 16 very short-range systems for the Land Forces.

In the initial stage, which will be launched this year and continue until 2031, the defense ministry intends to buy six integrated V/SHORAD systems for the Air Force and six short-range and six very short-range systems for the Land Forces. This initial phase will cost an estimated 2.1 billion euros.

Land Forces to buy 298 infantry fighting vehicles

The defense ministry also wants to purchase 298 infantry fighting vehicles, for the Land Forces, worth almost 3 billion euros. In stage I, beginning this year, 246 vehicles will be purchased and delivered over the next nine years, at a cost estimated at 2.5 billion euros.

Army to buy 155mm self-propelled howitzers for 5 battalions

The Romanian army intends to switch to 155 mm NATO caliber artillery and is starting the acquisition of 155mm self-propelled howitzers needed to equip five battalions of the Land Forces. The value of the contract is estimated at almost 2 billion euros.

Stage I, which is again due to be launched in 2023, calls for the acquisition of enough SPH to equip the first three battalions, whose cost, including logistical support and ammunition, is expected to amount to 1.15 billion euros.

Air force wants 500 air-to-air missiles

The Ministry of National Defence intends to buy nearly 500 air-to-air missiles for the F-16 fighters now in service. For medium-range, the plan is to buy 186 AIM-120 AMRAAMs for $372 million, while the short-range segment will be provided by the purchase of 299 AIM-9X Sidewinders. worth 239 million dollars. In both cases, the missiles will be procurement through a government-to-government agreement with the United States.

Lt Gen Teodor Incicaş, head of the defense ministry’s General Directorate of Armaments spoke, at the beginning of March, in an episode of the podcast produced by Observatorul Militar, about the equipment programs of the Romanian Army and the factors that make it difficult to purchase certain equipment military.

"As far as the equipment programs are concerned, we are talking about 40-50 "live" programs. That is to say, if we talk about acquisitions and ongoing contracts, we are talking about 40 programs that are running at the same time: programs whose contracts are ongoing, programs that are in the acquisition phase and programs that are either waiting for after a prior approval by the Romanian Parliament , or that have been approved and are waiting for the acquisition phase to begin.

By the end of March, Romania will have 4 Patriot missile systems and will buy three more, Incicas said. He said that the first two Patriots have already been delivered, two more are due by the end of the first quarter (i.e., this week) but three more will be acquired this year to increase the total to seven complete systems.

150 additional Piranha 5 armored vehicles

Regarding the Piranha 5 program, Incicaş specified that it is a framework agreement for 227 vehicles, with two subsequent contracts: one with 94 vehicles (concluded, with the third batch already received), and another with 133 vehicles, with the first batch of 47 vehicles due for delivery by the end of this year.

Romania has ordered 227 Mowag Piranha 5 wheeled armored vehicles, and they are being assembled at the Uzina Mecanică București (UMB) factory in Bucharest, which has been modernized with the help of Mowag, the Swiss subsidiary of General Dynamics European Land Systems. UMB will also assemble the additional vehicles that Romania intends to order. (Mowag photo)

 

The ministry has also expressed its intention to buy another 150 Piranha 5, in addition to the 227. The delay in the program is caused by the fact that Romania requested that the command and control system be produced in the country, Lt Gen Incicaş said. The delays also caused penalties for the production company, he says.

But these contracts also brought opportunities on the Romanian labor market since, he said, for the first follow-on contract certain parts were produced in-country, such as what is related to vehicle sensors, and in the second contract, the armored hull will be made in Romania, starting in 2023.

"For the production of the armored hull, this company needs to employ 30 or so welders. So many jobs appear only for welding," he said.

Romania will receive all F-16 aircraft from Norway in 2024

If things are going well for the HIMARS program, which will be completed next year, Lt Gen Incicaş says that the F-16 multirole aircraft program is "complex" and that, probably next year, all the aircraft from the Norwegians will be delivered. The upgrade of the 32 aircraft, and the adaptation of their software to Romanian requirements, is carried out in the United States and is complicating the process.

"The acquisition of the F-16 aircraft is an interim phase until the acquisition of the 5th generation aircraft, i.e. the F-35 aircraft," says Incicaş, adding that the first F-35 squadron could be delivered to Romania shortly after 2030.

Two important acquisitions that the ministry is about to initiate concern light armored tactical vehicles (1059) and brigade-level command posts and IT systems for battalion-level commands.

Romania will purchase Abrams tanks

At the same time, the acquisition of a battalion of Abrams tanks and a large, new naval package to increase combat capabilities at sea will also go to Parliament for approval. This should include submarines, minehunters and the modernization of missile-carrying ships. Regarding submarines, Incicas mentioned that the ministry wants them to be purchased in 4-5 years, but did not specify their number.

From 2024, the military will have new assault weapons

In addition to these, the head of the General Directorate for Armaments also mentioned the plan to start the purchase of light infantry weapons, most likely in 2024, with 100% manufacturing in Romania.

When it comes to the production of ammunition by the state entities, Teodor Indicaş claims that if the ammunition for the old equipment is going well, Romania still relies on some foreign suppliers for ammunition for the newer, modern equipment.

However, all ammunition producers in NATO or EU nations are under increasing pressure to increase their production output for ammunition, which raises the possibility of joint acquisition at bloc level. He also said that, currently, attempts are being made to restart the production of powders and explosives in the country, so as not to depend on imports anymore.

About the author: Tina G. Bridge is an experienced defence analyst with a special focus on weapons procurement.

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