Romania's deal with German producer for military vehicle fails

The program of manufacturing 8x8 armored vehicles for Romania’s Defense Ministry at the state-owned auto-mechanical plant Moreni in collaboration with the German producer Rheinmetall has stalled, Moreni union leader Constantin Bucuroiu told Economica.net. “It is going around in circles. (...) It’s already a failed project,” said Bucuroiu. He explained that the Government has been delaying for two months a decision on the status of the mixed company that should have managed the project. Meanwhile, the Defense Ministry is preparing to acquire up to 90 U.S. carriers Piranha 3, which are manufactured in Switzerland. The cost of such a carrier is around EUR 2.7 million, according to Bucuroiu’s estimates. In November 2016, the state-owned plant Moreni and German military vehicle producer Rheinmetall Landsysteme signed the agreement for setting up the mixed-capital Romanian-German company. Romania has promised to increase its defense spending in the following years. editor@romania-insider.com