Romanian Govt. pledges investments in advanced weapons production despite history of inefficiency
Government officials in Romania want to produce military aircraft, drones and submarines, among others, but the state-owned defense industry is outdated and has a long history of inefficiency and failure to deliver, despite an equally long…
Radu Dumitrescu · Journalist
· Updated · 4 min read
Government officials in Romania want to produce military aircraft, drones and submarines, among others, but the state-owned defense industry is outdated and has a long history of inefficiency and failure to deliver, despite an equally long record of government promises.
Romania plans to design and build military aircraft, according to economy minister Florin Spătaru. “We had discussions in Craiova on this topic. It is a message that we launched to the aeronautical industry in Romania, a country project that we could carry out,” said the minister, citing discussions with the state-owned airplane maker Avioane Craiova.
“From the discussions with them, I understood that in the coming weeks a cluster will be formed between the main players in the aeronautical segment, and then we can come up with a country project. I suggested they start these steps now,” said Spătaru.
Owned entirely by the Ministry of Economy, the Craiova-based airplane maker has a history of financial losses. The government previously had to step in and expunge its debts to keep it afloat, according toG4Media. At the moment, the company produces aircraft meant solely for training pilots.
Romania has a rich background in weapons manufacturing. Before the 1989 revolution, the country’s nationalistic communist authorities were keen to preserve their independence from the USSR, making and selling weapons in exchange for hard currency. In this way, communist Romania became one of thetop ten weapons exporters in that period. Throughout the 1990s, however, arms sales went down and factories were closed. Attempts to revive the industry have been ongoing since 1997, but have faced difficulties, corruption among them.
Building a military plane is the latest in the Romanian Government’s plans to revamp the country’s defense and arms production capabilities. However, its intentions are routinely foiled by an inefficient weapons industry. As proof of that inefficiency, earlier this month prime minister Nicolae Ciucă revealed that two years ago the Government placed an order of 1,000 handguns with the state-owned armament factory in Cugir. Meant for the Romanian army, the handguns are yet to be delivered.
“The factory in Cugir, along with the entire defense industry, is in need of new investments,” said the Romanian prime minister,
