As reported on Thursday, April 2, 2026, by the Romanian daily Mediafax, during the Romania Government Roundtable held at the turn of March and April, Defense Minister Radu Miruță revealed that some suppliers selected to carry out procurement programs under the EU loan instrument SAFE (Security Action for Europe) had, before signing implementation contracts, artificially increased prices by as much as 30%, putting pressure on the government in Bucharest ahead of the May 31 deadline for concluding those contracts, a practice the ministry категорically opposes.
Photo: Ionuț Moșteanu via Facebook
“When we began discussions about SAFE, some private ammunition manufacturers came with one price. Now, when we are close to signing, they are coming back with about 30% more,” Miruță said. “We will not accept this.”
Radu Miruță emphasized that the ministry would not yield to pressure and that the private sector could not force the state to accept higher costs simply because of the contractual timetable. Miruță did not say which companies were involved; however, according to the industry portal Defence Industry Europe, many political and military sources familiar with the matter claim that the German group Rheinmetall AG is among them, as it is involved in several modernization programs for Romania’s armed forces.
According to the list published on January 26 this year, under SAFE, Rheinmetall AG would supply 2 Oerlikon Skyranger 35 mm very short-range air defense (VSHORAD/C-RAM) systems for 330 million EUR, as originally agreed with the authorities in Bucharest; 2 Millennium naval very short-range air defense (C-UAS/C-RAM) systems for 36 million EUR; 87,000 rounds of 35 mm ammunition for the Oerlikon and Skyranger systems for 23.15 million EUR; and 400,000 programmable AHEAD rounds for the Oerlikon and Skyranger systems for 393.275 million EUR.
Although no supplier has yet been selected for the 198 tracked infantry fighting vehicles under the MLI (Mașina de Luptă a Infanteriei) program worth 2,983,566,000 EUR, Rheinmetall AG is offering the KF41 Lynx and is considered the frontrunner; in this case, the German offer would reportedly be 1 billion EUR more expensive. Similarly, for the offshore patrol vessel (OPV) program worth 2.7 billion EUR, the MMPV 90 from Naval Vessels Lürssen, which was acquired by Rheinmetall AG, has been offered. The same applies to the procurement of 70 strike-system sets with loitering munitions worth 147 million EUR, where the offered solution is the Israeli Hero family of munitions manufactured in Germany; Rheinmetall also offers the latest FV-014.
According to the Romanian press, as much as half of the SAFE funds allocated to the Romanian Ministry of Defense, that is, about half of the 9.53 billion EUR total, could go to German suppliers. In addition, at earlier stages of the decision-making process, there were suspicions that Rheinmetall AG had tried to lower certain technical requirements and had sought financial support from the Romanian government.
