DOPPELADLER.COM

Publicly available information suggests the IFV program, under which Romania is to buy up to 298 new vehicles, is worth about €3 billion, or $3.3 billion. Local observers say the Romanian military is expected to choose between South Korea’s Hanwha Aerospace with the Redback, General Dynamics European Land Systems with its Ascod, German Rheinmetall with the Lynx, and the CV90 made by BAE Systems Hägglunds in Sweden, among others.

A spokesperson for the National Defence Ministry told Defense News the award procedure for the vehicle contract is underway, and its signing is expected to take place in 2024.

MLIS

Mașina de luptă a infanteriei pe șenile

Obiectiv

• dotarea structurilor de forțe mecanizate din componența Forțelor Terestre cu mașini de luptă pe șenile moderne și performante

Hanwha revealed that it intends to enter its Redback tracked infantry fighting vehicle (IFV) into Italian and Romanian competitive IFV procurement programmes at the Black Sea Defense and Aerospace (BSDA) 2024 exhibition held in Bucharest from 22 to 24 May.

In a press release published on 21 May, Billy Boohwan Lee, head of Hanwha Aerospace Europe, claimed that “the Redback IFV solution is expected to help bring a massive manufacturing capability to the Romanian market through active industrial partnerships”. This followed an industry day held on 17 May, in which the company met with representatives from Romanian industry to investigate avenues for potential collaboration in upcoming programmes.

However, in an interview with Janes on the first day of the exhibition, Peter JK Bae, vice-president for business development at Hanwha Aerospace Europe, confirmed that partnerships with Romanian industry had yet to be finalised and that there are currently no arrangements in place for prototypes to be shipped from Australia to Romania for testing.

BAE Systems has revealed to Janes that it is offering its CV90 tracked infantry fighting vehicle (IFV), Armored Multipurpose Vehicle (AMPV) family of tracked armoured fighting vehicles, and its Archer self-propelled howitzer (SPH) to the Romanian army.

In an interview with Janes on 24 May at the Black Sea Defense and Aerospace (BSDA) exhibition in Bucharest, Paul Zukowski, Director, International Business Development – Europe at BAE Systems, explained that it intends to offer the Romanian army a choice of either the CV90 Mk IV, the AMPV, or potentially both platforms for an anticipated IFV procurement tender.

Janes understands that while the programme's requirements are yet to be finalised and a request for proposal (RFP) has not been issued, the Romanian army is seeking to procure 298 vehicles with variants including IFVs, self-propelled mortars, and command vehicles.

Local observers say Romanian Ministry of National Defence is to select between Germany’s Rheinmetall with the Lynx, the CV90 made by BAE Systems Hägglunds in Sweden, South Korea’s Hanwha with the AS21 Redback, and General Dynamics European Land Systems with its Ascod, among others. A committee consisting of Defence Ministry officials and representatives of state-owned defense company Romtehnica is to pick the winner.

The Romanian authorities expect that, after an initial batch of 26 vehicles is made by the selected supplier, the country’s state-dominated defense industry will take over manufacturing activities and produce the remaining 220 IFVs.

“The essential security interest for the Romanian state is to protect the supply chain through a technology transfer of the assembly, integration, testing and maintenance capabilities for the aforementioned technology and products to Romania,” the Ministry of National Defence said in a statement.

A spokesperson for the Romanian ministry told Defense News that, when contracting for major acquisitions, one of the institution’s priorities is to maximize the involvement of the country’s defense sector.

“The Ministry of National Defence is interested in increasing the contribution of the national defense industry to the procurement process of the Romanian Armed Forces and in ensuring, at local level, the lifetime maintenance of weapon systems and major equipment,” the spokesperson said.

• Mașină de lupta a infanteriei - varianta de bază [Schützenpanzer]

• Mașină de lupta a infanteriei - Punct Comandă Mobil [Führungspanzer]

• Mașină de lupta a infanteriei - Aruncătorul 120 mm [Granatwerferträger 120 mm]

• Mașină de lupta a infanteriei - TEHEVAC - Tractor de evacuare-reparații [Bergepanzer]

• Mașină de lupta a infanteriei - MEDEVAC - Vehicul de evacuare medicală [Sanitätspanzer]

• Panzerwanne

• Montage von:
  • Zusatzpanzerung
  • Spall-Liner
  • Sitzen für Panzerbesatzung
  • 5-Punkt-Sicherheitsgurte

• Waffensystem
  • Turm mit 30 mm-Maschinenkanone
    • Turmgehäuse, Montage der Panzerung, Lackierung des Endprodukts, Richtsystem, Verkabelung, Montagen zur Zusatzsysteme, Ausbalancierung
  • Fernbedienbare Waffenstation mit 12,7 mm-Maschinengewehr
    • Richtsystem, Verkabelung, Montagen für Zusatzsysteme, Ausbalancierung
  • Waffe
  • Beobachtungs- und Sichtsysteme

• Laserwarnsystem

• Kommunikations- und Informationssystem
  • Einbau, Integration und Test von Subkomponenten
  • Assemblierung und Einbau der Power Data Unit - PDU und der Communications Switching Box - CSB; Montage der Racks für diese Einheiten und Entwicklung eines Softwarepakets