Nine bidders for contract to modernize Romania’s frigates

Romania’s National Company Romtehnica has received nine offers from international companies for the modernization program of the frigates King Ferdinand and Queen Maria, according to local Profit.ro. The frigates were produced in 1986 and Romania purchased them in 2003. The modernization contract is estimated at RON 838.7 million (EUR 186 million), without VAT, for a period of three years and six months. Last year, Romania decided to increase its defense budget, and part of the money goes to the navy. Foreign companies have started sending their bids for the frigate modernization project in December 2015. The bidders include the Danish company Terma A/S, French firm DCNS Rcs, Dutch group Thales Nederland BV, British firm BAE Systems Surface Ships Limited, Italian company Finnmeccanica SPA, Canadian company Lockheed Martin Canada Inc, Swedish firm SAAB AB Electronic Defense Systems, Israel Aerospace Industries, and the Turkish-Romanian joint venture of STM Teknolojileri Muhendislik, Haveslan Hava Teknolojileri Sanay, ASELSAN Electronic Sanayi and the Center for Radiocommunication Services. The state also tried in 2009 to attribute the contract for the frigate modernization. However, the procedure failed in the end. Romania bought the two frigates from Great Britain in 2003, and already modernized them once, immediately after purchase. Romania’s Ministry of Defense wants to modernize its two frigates editor@romania-insider.com