Romania’s parliament has cleared the purchase of 12 Airbus H225M Caracal helicopters from Airbus Helicopters under an 852-million-euro ($999.57-million) procurement program.
The new aircraft are intended to replace part of Romania’s legacy Puma helicopter fleet, which was manufactured locally under license by Industria Aeronautică Română in the 1970s. Funding for the acquisition will come through the European Union SAFE initiative managed via France’s defense procurement framework.
Romania also secured the option to order as many as 30 more helicopters beyond 2030 through future national defense spending. Reports indicate the follow-on procurement may include both Airbus H225M Caracal and Airbus H215M platforms.
In parallel, lawmakers approved the acquisition of 12 air surveillance radar systems worth roughly 258 million euros ($303 million). Although authorities have not identified the radar model, the systems are believed to be Thales Ground Master 200 units.
The approvals are part of a wider 8.3-billion-euro ($9.74-billion) defense modernization effort. As part of the package, Rheinmetall will supply 232 KF41 Lynx IFVs in a deal worth around 2.6 billion euros, with an option for an additional 66 vehicles.
The German defense company will also provide Skynex, Skyranger 35, and Oerlikon Millennium air defense platforms. Separately, the Romanian branch of General Dynamics European Land Systems is set to assemble 139 Piranha 5 armored personnel carriers under an 831-million-euro SAFE-funded agreement, contributing to Romania’s long-term plan to procure 359 vehicles overall.
