Romania eyes joint drone production with Ukraine under EU defense scheme
Romania is considering partnering with Ukraine to produce drones under a European Union-funded defense initiative, Reuters reported on Sept. 26.
The plans come as Russian drones have repeatedly violated Romania's airspace. The country, which shares a 650-kilometer (400-mile) border with Ukraine, has documented more than 20 incidents of drones crossing into its territory or debris falling on its soil.
A Romanian government defense source told Reuters that Bucharest needs "more air defenses," and "nobody has them." The official cited "huge anti-aircraft costs" for Romania's defense, which "could only be covered on a NATO level."
Romania is reportedly in talks with Ukraine to jointly produce drones, drawing on Kyiv's "battle-tested" technology, under the EU's SAFE rearmament program. Ukraine itself has rapidly scaled up production, with Defense Minister Denys Shmyhal announcing on Sept. 18 that the country will soon be able to deploy at least 1,000 interceptor drones per day to repel Russian attacks.
Through the scheme, Romania will receive €16.6 billion ($19.4 billion), funding that Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan said would cover annual military purchases equal to about 1 percent of the country's GDP over the next five years.
Romania's current defenses include U.S.-made F-16 fighter jets, Patriot air defense systems, Lockheed Martin's HIMARS rocket launchers, South Korean Chiron short-range missiles, and German Gepard anti-aircraft guns.
The Gepards and Chiron systems are Romania's most cost-effective options for countering drones, yet deploying them across the entire border would be very expensive, the source told Reuters.
Tensions along NATO's eastern flank have escalated in recent weeks. Estonia accused Russia of violating its airspace with three fighter jets, Denmark temporarily shut airports over suspected drones, and NATO jets shot down Russian drones over Poland.
