BUCHAREST
\nRomania is weighing up canceling a 1.89 billion lei ($427.2 million) contract to buy drones from Israel\u2019s Elbit Systems \u200bdue to delivery delays, Defense Minister Radu Miruta said on Thursday.
\nThe deal, signed in 2022, envisaged deliveries beginning in 2025. Miruta said the company had requested three postponements citing force majeure, with his ministry accepting the first two.
\nHe said Elbit had accrued delay \u200cpenalties totalling \u200cabout 60 million euros.
\n\u201cI am \u200banalizing \u200cwhether we want \u200bto terminate this contract,\u201d Miruta told reporters. \u201cThere are some devices that have technical characteristics, which, if they are received a few years later, are no longer relevant.\u201d
\nRomania, a European Union and NATO member, shares a 650-km (400-mile) land border with Ukraine and has had drones breach its \u200cairspace and fragments \u200cfall onto its territory since \u200bRussia began attacking Ukrainian ports \u200clocated across the Danube from Romania.
\nRomania\u2019s defense \u200cbudget for 2026 stands at 2.45 percent of economic output.
\nUnder the EU\u2019s new rearmament initiative SAFE, which will begin later this year, Romania has been allotted 16.6 \u200cbillion euros ($19.2 billion). The country plans to spend about 200 million euros for drone production.
\nIn March, the presidents of Romania and Ukraine signed a statement of intent to produce Ukrainian defense systems, including drones, in Romania.
\nOn Wednesday, the Romanian government held a business-to-business matchmaking meeting between domestic defense firms and 15 Ukrainian companies to discuss technical cooperation on drone production.
\nMiruta said on Thursday that Romania would shortlist Ukrainian drone makers that meet the Romanian army\u2019s requirements \u200bin the coming \u200bdays and then start commercial talks on potential joint production.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
BUCHAREST Romania is weighing up canceling a 1.89 billion lei ($427.2 million) contract to buy drones from Israel\u2019s Elbit Systems \u200bdue to delivery delays, Defense Minister Radu Miruta said on Thursday. The deal, signed in 2022, envisaged deliveries beginning in 2025. Miruta said the company had requested three postponements citing force majeure, with his ministry […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-539710","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n