According to local media Romanian Ministry of Defence (MoD) might decide to postpone the development of a family of Agilis wheeled, armored vehicles and decide to procure a number of tracked Puma IFVs.
The Romanian MoD might decide to procure nearly 200 Puma tracked IFVs as a gap filler solution at a time of prolonged negotiations on the Agilis program / Picture: Michal Jarocki
Local media report that the chief of Romanian MoD, Gabriel Leş, admitted, that negotiations with the German Rheinmetall company about a joint development of a family of Agilis wheeled, armored vehicles had stalled. Apparently, both sides failed to reach final agreement on how the programme should be carried out, especially in regards to sharing of investment costs between partners.
However, despite the delay in the Agilis program, Romanian MoD continues with its plan to modernize the Army’s fleet of armored vehicles, which currently is composed mostly of legacy, soviet era platforms. As the first step, the country will manufacture and procure 227 Piranha V wheeled, armored vehicles, under a contract signed with General Dynamics European Land Systems.
Furthermore, Romanian MoD is considering procurement of nearly 200 Puma tracked IFVs from Rheinmetall. Authorities in Bucharest were said to have already started negotiations with the German manufacturer, however, it is not yet sure, if the future deal for Puma IFVs will in any way depend on reaching the final agreement on the Agilis program.