Romania is taking measures to equip itself with military technologies

Romania is taking steps to equip itself with military technologies, such as the Turkish Bayraktar drones and the Israeli Iron Dome anti-aircraft system, with the aim of improving its defensive capacity in the face of Russian expansionism, Romanian Defense Minister Vasile Dincu said in an interview for EFE made via e-mail and broadcasted on Thursday by the Spanish press agency.

"The Land Forces intend to acquire three unmanned aircraft systems on board UAS Bayraktar TB2", mentioned Vasile Dincu, recalling that the Romanian Parliament gave its consent for the start of the acquisition process and also confirmed Romania's interest in the Iron Dome systems.

Produced by the Turkish company Baykar, Bayraktar drones were successfully used by the Azerbaijani army in the war with Armenia and represent one of the main points of resistance of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, to face the Russian invasion of this country which shares a common border with Romania, reminds EFE.

Regarding the Iron Dome system, Minister Vasile Dincu stated that the executive of which he is a part "is interested in the implementation of an integrated ground-based anti-aircraft defense system".

"Currently, our specialists are working on the principles of an equipment program whose objective is the acquisition of air defense systems", added the Romanian minister.

Vasile Dincu was received in September in Tel Aviv by his Israeli counterpart Benny Gantz, writes EFE, who recalls that, according to the press, the two officials talked about the possible acquisition of the "Iron Dome" system by Romania, which would become the first European country to own this technology.

Romania joined NATO in 2004 and has excellent relations both with Israel and the USA, notes EFE.

The Washington administration participated in the development of the Iron Dome system and its agreement is indispensable for its transfer to any other third country, adds the quoted press agency, according to Agerpres.

The system has operated successfully in all military conflicts between Israel and the Palestinian armed group Hamas over the past decade, managing to intercept about 90% of rockets launched against Israeli military and civilian targets.

The Romanian authorities also adopted a law that allows the purchase of "32 F-16 aircraft from Norway's surplus", which, according to Vasile Dincu, would imply "an important step in the development of the Romanian Air Force".

Following the steps taken by another country neighboring Ukraine, Poland, a member of the European Union and NATO, Bucharest is also turning to South Korea in order to strengthen its deterrence capacity against Russia, whose invasion of Ukraine brought the war to just several hundred kilometers from the territory of Romania.

In September, a few days after visiting Israel, Minister Vasile Dincu traveled to Seoul to relaunch defense cooperation between the two countries.

Translated by: Radu Matei