Romania is proceeding with the acquisition of two Rheinmetall light corvettes, which will be assembled domestically in Mangalia as part of the country’s broader naval modernization effort.
The future warships will be based on the Multipurpose Modular Offshore Patrol Vessel (MMPV) 90 developed by Rheinmetall subsidiary Naval Vessels Lürssen and supported through the European Union’s SAFE defense investment initiative.
Romanian media outlet HotNews reported that approximately 836 million euros ($980.8 million) has been earmarked to launch production of the two vessels.
Officials in Bucharest stated that Romania’s corvette configuration will differ from Bulgaria’s MMPV-based ships, despite sharing the same German design lineage.
The MMPV 90 is a 90-meter-long (295-foot) vessel with a 14-meter (46-foot) beam and accommodation for as many as 70 crew members.
Powered by twin 8,900-horsepower engines, the ship can exceed 20 knots in speed and operate over distances of up to 3,000 nautical miles (5,556 kilometers).
The design incorporates a helicopter flight deck and hangar for rotary-wing aircraft and drones, in addition to launch and recovery systems for two rigid-hull inflatable boats.
Romania’s planned corvettes are expected to receive Thales multifunction radar systems, the TACTICOS combat management suite, electronic warfare capabilities, and both hull-mounted and towed sonar systems optimized for anti-submarine warfare missions.
The vessels could also carry a 76mm OTO Melara main gun, a 35mm Oerlikon Millennium CIWS, a 21-cell Rolling Airframe Missile launcher, torpedo launchers, decoy systems, and potentially Naval Strike Missiles in the future.
