The “pocket drone” was developed by the Ministry of Defense, and after approval it would be used by the military for recognition “immediately in the tactical field”, announced the head of the Armaments Directorate of the Romanian Defense Ministry (MApN), Major General Teodor Incicaș. He also revealed that MApN is developing other drones as well and what models are or will be purchased.
“We approach the acquisition of unmanned aerial systems on various levels, levels regulated by the definitions in our documents or by the NATO definitions,” said Major General Teodor Incicaș, head of the General Directorate for Armaments, invited to the “Military Observatory” podcast.
“Last year, through our own research, we created the so-called “pocket drone” that we are now going to approve and, after purchasing it based on our projects, introduce it to the equipment of the military,” said Incicaș. “A drone that is necessary for the military as an individual in terms of immediate knowledge in the tactical field and reconnaissance especially in the urban area,” he added.
“As for the unmanned aerial systems, on the first level we have the mini system that is in the equipment of battalions, brigades and whose purchase we intend to make this year. This system is intended for reconnaissance in shorter distances, 20-25 kilometers,” said Incicaș.
“The tactical air system is that unmanned system that according to our requirements – we have a requirement of our own to be up to 100 kilometers (n.r. operational range). At the moment at the Research Agency for Military Technique and Technology we have created a first product and we are going to develop one with vertical landing and takeoff, this product after approval will enter the equipment of the Romanian Army”, said the head of the armaments department
He said that for this purchase the Army will “come out” to the market with its own product, but that a competitive procurement procedure will still be held.
The MapN representative added that besides these types of smaller drones, the Army is running the procurement programs for large and highly complex unmanned aerial systems, with radius of over 200 kilometers, and where contracts have already been signed or Parliament’s approval has been obtained and negotiations are currently underway.
At the end of 2022, Romania signed the framework agreement for the supply of the “Class II Tactical-Operational UAS System” product with the Israeli company Elbit Systems Ltd, and the drones will be produced in Romania.
At the same time, Romania is currently discussing with the Turkish company Baykar for the purchase of Bayraktar TB-2 attack drones, said Major General Teodor Incicaș, head of the General Directorate for Armaments, invited to the “Military Observatory” podcast.
Romania buys Abrams tanks
Romania will buy a battalion of American Abrams tanks through a “Government-Government” (G2G) type agreement with the USA, the head of the Armaments Directorate of the Ministry of Defense also announced.
“The General Staff of the Land Forces considered that (the Abrams tank) is the best means and has a uniqueness of its own in carrying out the missions,” said Teodor Incicaș.
The head of the Armaments Directorate specified that the request for approval for the purchase of an “Abrams tank battalion” will be sent to the Romanian Parliament, without specifying the exact number of armored vehicles that the Romanian army wants to buy and the exact cost of that purchase. A NATO-standard tank battalion has, as a rule, 54 such armored vehicles.
In the US Army, an Abrams tank battalion is organized into 3 or 4 companies, each company having 3-4 platoons, and each platoon 4-5 tanks. Comparatively, Poland announced in January that it would buy 116 Abrams armored vehicles, a contract worth 1.4 billion dollars.