Romania signs $410 million deal to buy drones from Israel

Europe, Middle East, News December 23, 2022 , by IRIA No Comments

Romania’s state-owned defense company signed a deal with Israel’s Elbit Systems to purchase up to seven Watchkeeper X drones. Romtehnica signed the $410 million deal on behalf of Romania’s Ministry of National Defense.

As a part of the deal, the Romanian defense industry would gain the rights to domestically produce and provide maintenance services for the tactical drones in Easter European region. In the aftermath of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, demand for unmanned attack vehicles has seen a sharp increase in recent times. The current deal between Romtehnica and Elbit Systems is valid for five years and can be expanded further in the future.

According to a statement released by Romania’s Defense Ministry “Starting with the third Watchkeeper X system, the adjacent electrical and mechanical systems will be manufactured in Romania, by economic operators acting in the national defense industry.”

The statement further said that “the complex maintenance works throughout the life-cycle of the Watchkeeper X systems will be provided by domestic economic operators, in order to avoid the provision of these services by foreign companies during crisis situations or wartime.”

Elbit’s Watchkeeper X is a variant of the Hermes 450 drone. The Hermes 450 was developed by U-TacS, a joint venture in which Elbit holds 51% share along with Thales UK, which holds the remaining 49% shares.

In September this year, Romania unveiled its plans to purchase Turkish-made drones from one of the leading drone manufacturers, Baykar Technologies, in a deal that would have cost around $300 million. Although cheaper, Baykar Technologies would not have allowed Romanian’s Romtehnica to domestically produce parts or provide services. Romania is still in talks to purchase Turkish-made Bayraktar TB2 drones from Baykar Technologies.

The Watchkeeper X is designed for intelligence gathering, surveillance, target acquisition, and reconnaissance. The British military is the primary user of the Watchkeeper X drones, however, due to its cheaper cost, it is expected that many Eastern European countries would opt to use Watchkeeper X for surveillance and reconnaissance missions.

Watchkeeper X uncrewed aircraft equipped with a range of intelligence and reconnaissance cameras and sensors. (Image Credit: U-TacS)

Romania’s timely investment is part of a regional trend. Last October, Poland’s Ministry of National Defense signed a contract to lease a set of MQ-9A Reaper drones from U.S. manufacturer General Atomics.

The move came as the ministry is preparing for the purchase of unmanned aircraft. In Lithuania, the country’s government has allocated additional funds for the purchase of Switchblade drones from the United States, with a deal expected to be signed by the end of 2022.