Romania will acquire H215 helicopters from the French group Airbus, but they will be produced at the group’s plant in Brasov.

The helicopters will equip the Defense Ministry and the Interior Ministry, defense minister Mihai Fifor said yesterday. He met with prime minister Mihai Tudose and Airbus representatives at the Government headquarters on Monday.

“It is an older discussion on Romania's partnership with Airbus through IAR Brasov,” the minister said. “We want the partner companies to invest in the Romanian defense industry, not just to sell equipment in Romania."

These helicopters will be produced on the Brasov line, which starts production next year, the minister said.

At the end of August, Airbus extended by ten years the exclusive contract with the Romanian helicopter producer IAR Brasov to assemble the H215M heavy-duty helicopter in Romania. The Airbus investment agreement was signed at the Romanian Presidency headquarters in Bucharest, during French president Emmanuel Macron’s official visit to Romania.

editor@romania-insider.com