On Thursday, April 16, 2026, according to industry portal Defence Industry Europe, Romanian Defence Minister Radu Miruță confirmed at a press conference that, despite pricing controversies surrounding the implementation of defense programs under the EU’s SAFE (Security Action for Europe) loan instrument, Germany’s Rheinmetall AG will receive an order to supply 298 KF41 Lynx infantry fighting vehicles under the MLI (Mașina de Luptă a Infanteriei) program.
Photo: Jakub Link-Lenczowski, MILMAG
The contract will be concluded despite ongoing negotiations and controversy. At the turn of March and April, Minister Radu Miruță acknowledged during the Romania Government Roundtable that some suppliers selected for defense procurement programs had increased prices by as much as 30% compared to their original offers. According to reports at the time, Rheinmetall AG was among them.
Critics of the Romanian Ministry of Defence’s decision argue that the SAFE instrument mechanism and the limited scope of Romania’s Request for Information (RFI) in the MLI program weaken competition among bidders and reduce Romania’s negotiating leverage. Given that serial production of the KF41 Lynx has already begun in Hungary, questions have been raised as to whether Romania will achieve meaningful industrial and economic benefits.
Minister Miruță stated that the infantry fighting vehicle program, originally valued at 2,983,566,000 EUR, will be awarded to Rheinmetall AG, even though the final offer is expected to be 1 billion EUR higher.
According to multiple informed sources, the minister confirmed behind-the-scenes arrangements during a recent Q&A session with journalists, despite having previously insisted that Bucharest would not yield to pricing pressure.
“The MLI program will go to Rheinmetall AG,” Radu Miruță said when asked whether other suppliers would be invited to submit bids if price negotiations with the preferred contractor failed.
In the case of the MLI program, only Rheinmetall AG was invited to submit final bids, while other potential competitors were excluded. It should be recalled that, under earlier plans, Bucharest issued a request for 246 base vehicles valued at 2,533,566,000 EUR and 52 specialized vehicles worth 450,000,000 EUR, including logistics and training packages.
Sources indicate that under these conditions Rheinmetall AG sought to reduce the number of vehicles in the MLI program rather than offer significant price reductions, effectively shifting the burden of negotiations onto the Romanian government.
This development further reinforces concerns that major procurement programs under SAFE have not been conducted on a level playing field, but rather in line with what appears to be a politically predetermined outcome, potentially undermining transparency and fair competition in one of Romania’s most important military modernization programs.
Observers in the defense sector have raised concerns that Romania’s defense procurement system, financed through SAFE loans, is being used in a way that limits competition and undermines accountability.
Beyond the acquisition of next-generation armored vehicles, the MLI program was expected to deliver significant industrial and economic benefits: stimulating local industrial production, enabling technology transfer, and ensuring long-term integration with Romania’s defense industrial base.
In this context, the KF41 Lynx platform – currently produced primarily at the ZALA Zone facility in Hungary – presents inherent limitations in terms of generating substantial industrial value in Romania.
It is worth recalling that the KF41 Lynx has so far been adopted by Hungary, Italy, and Ukraine, and, as the Lynx XM30 variant with a new turret, is currently being offered in the United States (having previously failed to secure a contract in Australia).