Romania to implement Iron Dome air defense system, minister says

Romanian defense minister Ionuț Moșteanu announced this week that the government aims to import the air defense system also used by Israel, known as the Iron Dome, G4media.ro reported.

The Iron Dome will protect Romania from attacks with short and very short-range missiles. The contract for the SHORAD-VSHORAD air defense system is to be signed in the fall of 2025, according to the government official.

“These are defensive missile batteries that we don’t have, and we need them. If I were to give an example, when we see images from Tel Aviv when the Iranians attack and we see the Iron Dome, that is SHORAD-VSHORAD, and it protects Tel Aviv. It will protect us as well. Whether it’s airports, military bases, or, God forbid, we need to defend our cities,” said Moșteanu during an interview for the public broadcaster TVR.

The Iron Dome system is part of a new defense acquisitions policy, one which the minister promised to bolster during 2025. Military acquisitions currently represent almost 30% of the defense budget, and future purchases include short-range missiles and corvettes.

Moșteanu also noted that Romanian president Nicușor Dan, who has recently taken office, will lay out a new defense policy, building on the importance given to the Black Sea area by the EU and the US. Another important part of the future strategy will be Turkey.

“There is no Black Sea strategy without Turkey. It is the strongest. We will have to take these steps, these discussions, and it will be in the national defense strategy, there will be a Black Sea strategy,” the minister said.

(Photo source: Rafael Ben Ari | Dreamstime.com)