In the fall of 2024, the Romanian Ministry of National Defense officially announced the transfer of a fire unit of the Patriot SAM system to Ukraine. Therefore, Bucharest's expectations that NATO could even organize Air Policing mission for them after such a step were quite logical, not to mention the subsequent transfer of the air defense battery in exchange for the one delivered to the Ukrainian Defense Forces were quite logical.
Earlier this week, it became known that Raytheon received an order for $ 529 million for the production of the Patriot SAM system for the Netherlands. This country has also previously actively participated in strengthening Ukrainian air defense with American surface-to-air missile systems. And in this case, it is about ordering one fire unit to replace those that the Netherlands transferred to Ukraine.
Read more: Romania to Start Training Ukrainian Marines on Swedish CB90
Against this news, the Romanian specialized publication Defense Romania published a news item stating that Bucharest should be next after Amsterdam in the queue to get another Patriot SAM system to replace the one delivered to Ukraine.
"The donated system is now being compensated by our allies, and Romania is purchasing a modern system, more efficient than the donated one," emphasized earlier this week the head of the Romanian defense ministry, Angel Tilvar, stating that the Patriot SAM that Romania will eventually receive will be "the technological peak among these systems at this moment."
In particular, firstly, it is likely that together with the new system, Romania will also receive supplies of PAC-3 MSE interceptors, which are primarily intended to destroy ballistic missiles. Secondly, and this is actually the most important thing, the Romanians hope that with the fire unit to be delivered in exchange for the one transferred to Ukraine, their army will also receive the latest LTAMDS radar station, which eliminates the main drawback of the Patriot SAM system and has a simultaneous 360-degree view.
Let us recall that Romania purchased its first Patriot SAM systems back in 2017, in 2020 it received the first fire unit in service, and it took Romania seven years from the moment of purchase to put it into service.
Defense Express reported earlier, that Romania Weighted Fast-Track K2 Tank Purchase Amidst Growing Defense Needs.
Read more: Romania Confirms russian Drone Entry into its Airspace, the F-16 Jets Have Been Dispatched
