Romania participates in EU Joint Procurement Initiative for Mistral 3 systems alongside eight other countries

 Romania is participating in the EU joint procurement project for Mistral 3 air defence missiles along with eight other European countries, with the details of the program being evaluated with the French side, the Ministry of National Defence (MApN) said on Sunday.MApN added that the Man-portable air-defence systems (MANPAD) procurement has been approved in 2022, with an estimated value of around 700 million euros, excluding VAT."The MANPAD program represents a strategic investment in Romania's security, contributing to the strengthening of common European defence. It can benefit from non-reimbursable partial financing through the European Defence Industry Reinforcement through the Common Procurement Act (EDIRPA), which means that part of the costs can be covered by the European Union," shows the cited source.At the same time, MApN states that "it will use all available EU instruments to reduce procurement costs, and an important option in this process is the Security Action for Europe (SAFE) instrument through the strengthening of the European defence industry".The French Embassy informed on Wednesday that there are two separate projects in the field of air defence with the Romanian state. One is aimed at very short-range portable anti-aircraft missiles for the Romanian infantry."The French state is proposing the latest generation Mistral 3 (MBDA) missiles as part of a joint procurement for new countries, including France and Romania. Thus, all countries benefit from the same conditions of purchase (favorable price, quality and performance), as does France. The price proposed for Romania is much lower than the 700 million euro budget approved by the Bucharest Parliament for this equipment," the cited source said.The second project targets short and very short range anti-aircraft systems installed on vehicles."A French company responded to a tender launched by the Romanian government. A bid was submitted by this company, but it was eliminated by the Romanian authorities," the diplomatic mission said.With regard to the SHORAD-VSHORAD procurement, MApN states that it was approved in 2020 and the estimated value of the procurement, which started in 2023, is about 1.9 billion euros excluding VAT.After going through a competitive procedure, the contracting authority, the Directorate General for Armaments of MApN, through CN Romtehnica SA, communicated the result of the tender procedure to the economic operators involved."Following the communications, no complaints have been filed, and the award procedure will be finalized by the signing of the Framework Agreement between the contracting authority and the economic operator designated as the winner," MApN informs.  (Photo:https://www.mbda-systems.com/)