Romania, the last country in Europe still operating Soviet-era T-55s and their derivatives TR-85, is preparing to finally replace its aging tank fleet. The plan covers 216 new tanks along with 76 additional specialized vehicles built on the same chassis. These will complement the 54 U.S.-made M1A2 SEP v3 Abrams Romania has already ordered.
According to DefenseRomania, a formal request was submitted this week to parliament, with the purchase estimated at 6.5 billion euros. Rough calculations suggest a price of around 30 million euros per tank, or 22.26 million euros per vehicle when including the specialized machines.
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A crucial condition of the future deal is localization of production. Romania insists that most components, including armored hulls, targeting systems, and weapon-related electronics, must be produced domestically. Final assembly, component integration, and testing will also take place in Romania, ensuring the country's defense industry can later handle maintenance and upgrades.
Defense Express adds, That two main contenders are being considered: the German Leopard 2A8 and the South Korean K2 Black Panther. Hyundai, the K2 manufacturer, is reportedly offering highly attractive terms on localization and technology transfer, a strategy already used in its deals with Poland.
From a cost perspective, the K2 stands out with a price tag of around 20 million dollars per unit and some of the highest production rates in the world, combined with readiness to cooperate with local industry. Romania is already localizing the production of South Korean K9 self-propelled howitzers, which makes the K2 even more appealing.
Germany, however, may counter this with participation in the joint Leopard 2A8 program already involving Lithuania, the Czech Republic, the Netherlands, and soon Croatia. To improve production rates, currently only 58 per year, Berlin could also rely on Romanian industry.
There are also rumors that Romania might secure additional benefits if it transfers its old T-55s and TR-85s to Ukraine, similar to Croatias approach, though this remains uncertain and unlikely to be decisive. Romania plans to launch the procurement process before the end of this year, so a final decision is expected soon.
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