On Tuesday, April 28, 2026, Romanian defense portal DefenseRomania was the first to publish a list of 15 projects approved by the country’s Ministry of Defense for financing under the EU’s Security Action for Europe (SAFE) loan instrument. The projects were submitted to the Defense Committee of the Chamber of Deputies, the lower house of parliament, for approval.
Romania plans to purchase, among other items, Polish Warmate loitering munitions / Photo: WB Group
The portal notes that the list includes 15 programs to be financed, and the individual contracts must be signed by May 31 this year. The programs are worth almost 8.3 billion EUR, of which nearly 5.66 billion EUR consists of programs to be implemented in cooperation with German industry, including mostly with Rheinmetall AG, accounting for almost 4.95 billion EUR.
As a reminder, on January 26 this year, Romania’s Ministry of Defense disclosed a list under the SAFE program that included 21 items. In late February and early March, controversy emerged over industry allegedly inflating bid prices by as much as 30%, with Rheinmetall AG among those mentioned. However, in mid-April, the government in Bucharest stated that selected contracts would be concluded.
Approved list:
- 139 additional Piranha 5 wheeled infantry fighting vehicles for 2.172 billion EUR, of which 831.20 million EUR will come from SAFE funding; the initial estimate was 761.2 million EUR. In addition, a second phase planned for 2031 envisages the purchase of another 220 Piranha 5 vehicles, with a total estimated value of 1.341 billion EUR.
- 115 Iveco logistics trucks for 344.4 million EUR; initially, 1,370 vehicles had been planned for 471.505 million EUR, while 870 were ordered on March 10 this year.
- 2 integrated air and missile defense command posts, SBAMD-TC, for 160 million EUR; the price is unchanged, jointly with Germany.
- 2 vessels for diving operations support, VIS, for 84 million EUR; negotiations with Rheinmetall Naval Systems, previous price: 57 million EUR.
- 2 OPV-class offshore patrol vessels for 837 million EUR; negotiations with Rheinmetall Naval Systems, previously one vessel for 2.7 billion EUR.
- 12 H225M Caracal helicopters for 852 million EUR; a joint purchase with France, while at least 12 aircraft had previously been assumed for 1.285 billion EUR.
- 7 Coastal Defense Systems (CDS) with 48 Naval Strike Missiles (NSM) for 207 million EUR; a joint purchase with Norway, price unchanged.
- 232 KF41 Lynx infantry fighting vehicles under the MLI (Mașina de Luptă a Infanteriei) program for 2.5984 billion EUR, instead of 298 vehicles for the originally planned 2.983566 billion EUR, although there were reports of the price being inflated by 1 billion EUR; negotiations with Rheinmetall AG. The unit price is 11.2 million EUR, compared with 10 million EUR previously, but the difference is said to result from an additional package. The remaining 66 vehicles are to be financed from the budget at approximately 738.6 million EUR .
- 7 Oerlikon Skynex very-short-range air defense systems for 476 million EUR; negotiations with Rheinmetall Italia, price unchanged.
- 2 Oerlikon Skyranger 35 mm very-short-range air defense systems (VSHORAD/C-RAM) for 470 million EUR; negotiations with Rheinmetall AG, previous price 330 million EUR.
- 12 medium-range radar systems for 258 million EUR; according to sources, French Thales GM200 radars, price unchanged.
- 3 medium-range surface-to-air missile systems (SBAMD(L)-MR / SBAMD(L)-M-MR) for 547.83 million EUR; previous price 450 million EUR, probably the IRIS-T SLM system jointly with Germany.
- 70 loitering-munition strike system sets for 147 million EUR; probably Warmate from WB Group, through WB Romania, purchased jointly with Poland, price unchanged.
- 2 naval very-short-range air defense systems (C-UAS/C-RAM), Millennium, for 36 million EUR; negotiations with Rheinmetall Italia, price unchanged.
- 401,760 rounds of 35 mm ammunition for Oerlikon, Skyranger, Millennium, and Gepard systems for 450 million EUR; negotiations with Rheinmetall Waffe Munition. Previously listed as two items: 87,000 rounds for 23.15 million EUR and 400,000 AHEAD programmable rounds for 393.275 million EUR, totaling 416.425 million EUR, meaning the price has increased.
Not included on the list:
- 240,000 small arms with ammunition for 439.86 million EUR;
- 1 integrated real-time training simulation system for 94.5 million EUR;
- 70 software platform sets for C4ISR command and reconnaissance systems for 19 million EUR;
- 231 Mistral air defense sets with 934 missiles for 625.56 million EUR, although in early April this year information emerged about the purchase of the sets at the stated prices.
