According to papers that were just made public, the Romanian Ministry of National Defense gave the Turkish defense company Baykar a $321 million contract to buy TB2 unmanned aerial vehicles.
The move comes after the Romanian Ministry of Defense (MoD) said in August that it planned to buy three sets of TB2 drones from Baykar Makina for about $300 million, pending approval from parliament.
“The Unmanned Aerial Systems that will be bought are for the Romanian Land Forces. Each system has six flying platforms that can be used to shoot at targets, for a total of 18 drones. “The program also includes buying an initial logistical support package, as well as the training and equipment that are needed,” the ministry said at the time.
This week, the official contract award notice for making these systems was posted on the Tenders Electronic Daily website. This is an online form of the Supplement to the Official Journal of the European Union that focuses on public procurement projects.
The drones will be sent to Timisoara. Before the MiG-23s were taken out of service, the Romanian Air Force ran the 93rd Air Base there. When it gets them, Romania will be the second EU country after Poland to operate TB2s and the third European NATO state to order them outside of Turkey.
These purchases are part of the plan to change the Romanian Army until 2040. The goal is to give the forces new combat equipment and weapon systems that give them more flexibility, a better understanding of the situation, and more firepower.
Bloomberg said that Romania plans to raise its defense spending to 2.5% of GDP by 2023. Last year, about $6 billion was set aside for war spending.
In a statement posted on the website of Romanian President Klaus Iohannis earlier this month, it was said that Bucharest was also considering buying F-35s to update its air force.
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