The Minister of Defense, Radu Miruță, stated that Romania is not currently facing an additional military risk, in the context of international tensions and the statements made today by Iranian officials. Miruță specified that the state’s specialized structures have so far not sent warnings regarding a direct threat to the country.
“From the analyzes that the specialized structures in Romania have, there is no additional risk necessarily associated with Romanians. That there are risks of terrorist attacks, attempted somewhere in the world where Romanians would also be, it can happen, but it is not on purpose. The Ministry of Defense has information regarding military risks, regarding other categories of risks. There are other structures of the Romanian state that so far have not informed me that such a threat exists”the minister said on Monday evening, answering journalists’ questions.
Miruță emphasized that the anti-missile defense system at the Deveselu Military Base offers protection to Romania, including in the face of possible threats from Iran.
“There is certainty that the Deveselu Shield defends Romania including against threats that could also come from Iran. There is certainty that Romania possesses a series of capabilities to prevent such possible attacks. There is a constant concern to increase the degree of endowment of the Romanian Army, in order to be able to deter more”. said the minister.
He added that the presence of the American military on Romanian territory has a deterrent role and contributes to increasing national security.
“The fact that American soldiers are coming to Romania is something that increases the degree of deterrence, not something that decreases the degree of deterrence”, said Miruta.
Reaction to Traian Băsescu’s statements
The Minister of Defense also commented on the statements of former President Traian Băsescu, who suggested that Romania could become a target in the event of a conflict. Miruță specified that, according to the information received from the American army, the aircraft deployed in Romania do not carry offensive loads.
“It’s not about explosive-carrying aircraft, it’s not about bombers. This was verified by the Ministry of Defense before the CSAT meeting, before the vote in Parliament, and we informed all these things, the US Army sent us in writing that it’s not about explosive-carrying aircraft,” explained the minister.
Major budget for the endowment of the military
The minister announced that 38% of the budget of the Ministry of Defense is intended for the endowment programs of the Army. In total, the institution manages about 9.53 billion euros, and 11 major projects represent about 70% of this amount.
According to Miruță, between 50% and 60% of the production related to these programs would be carried out in Romania, which would mean investments of approximately 3.5–4 billion euros in the national defense industry.
As examples, the minister mentioned the production of Piranha armored personnel carriers at Uzina Mecanică Bucharest and the contract for military vehicles carried out in partnership with the IVECO company.
Drone project with Ukraine
The Minister of Defense also spoke about the existence of a drone co-production project with Ukraine, worth approximately 200 million euros, carried out within the European SAFE program.
The aim of the project is the development in Romania of a production capacity for drones tested on the Ukrainian front. The minister stated that the discussions are still in the technical phase and that the deadline for contracting the purchases could be the end of May, depending on the interpretation of the European Commission regarding the status of the partnership with Ukraine.
“What hasn’t happened in 30 years can’t be done in four days. We need at least until the end of May to put the project on its feet.” Miruta declared.
SAFE, more advantageous for Romania than loans
The minister explained that accessing funds through the SAFE program is much more advantageous for Romania than contracting loans from the free market, unlike the situation in Poland, which has a greater financial capacity.
The official added that the program includes 21 new endowment projects, some of which are aimed at revitalizing capabilities in the national defense industry.
