Arms industry in Romania

Before 1989, Romania was among the top ten arms exporters in the world, however its arms industry declined considerably during the 1990s. Exports fell from roughly $1 billion before 1989 to about $43 million in 2006,[1] and the number of employees also fell from 220,000 in 1990 to 20,000 in 2009.[2] Sales to the Romanian Armed Forces have plunged after Romania's accession to NATO in 2004, as factories continue to produce Warsaw Pact-caliber weapons and ammunition, which are incompatible with their Western counterparts.

As of 2009, sales are roughly evenly divided between the Romanian state and foreign customers such as European Union and Arab countries such as Egypt, Algeria and Iraq.[3] Other countries which have shown interest in Romanian equipment include Afghanistan, Israel, Switzerland, the United States, the United Arab Emirates, India, Georgia and a slew of African countries.[4] There have been some signs of slight recovery, with exports reaching €141 million in 2009. However, the arms industry in Romania still lagged behind neighboring countries such as Ukraine,[5] Bulgaria[6] and Serbia.[7]

With the start of the war in Ukraine in 2022, Romania's arms exports sharply increased, passing over €1 billion worth of exports in 2023. In 2024, 864 million euros of arms exports were reported. Some of the top customers for Romanian arms, which included small arms, ammunition, optics and other subassemblies, were Israel, Ukraine, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic and the United States.[8][9]

Manufacturers

Weapons and equipment

Small arms

Remote controlled weapon stations

AFVs

  • TR-77-580 main battle tank
  • TR-85/TR-85 M1 main battle tank
  • TR-125 main battle tank
  • MLI-84/MLI-84M infantry fighting vehicle
  • MLVM tracked armored personnel carrier
  • Piranha V wheeled infantry fighting vehicle (produced under license)
  • TAB-71 armored personnel carrier
  • TAB-77 armored personnel carrier
  • ABC-79M armored personnel carrier
  • B33 Zimbru armored personnel carrier
  • RN-94 armored personnel carrier
  • Saur 1 armored personnel carrier
  • Saur-2 armored personnel carrier
  • ARO-244 ABI armored 4x4 vehicle
  • Stimpex Dracon armored 4x4 vehicle
  • CA-95 mobile anti-air missile system

Artillery

  • M30M 122 mm howitzer (modernized M1938 (M-30) variant)
  • M1980/1988 30 mm x 3 towed anti-aircraft gun
  • M1988 60 mm infantry mortar
  • M1977 81/82 mm infantry mortar
  • M1982 120 mm infantry mortar
  • M1982 76 mm mountain gun (based on the M48)
  • M1993 98 mm mountain howitzer
  • M1977 100 mm antitank gun (similar to the 2A19/T-12)
  • M1982 130 mm towed field gun M1954 (M-46)
  • M1981 152 mm towed gun-howitzer M1955 (D-20)
  • M1985 152 mm howitzer (based on the D-20, similar to the 2A65 Msta-B)
  • M-1989 122 mm self-propelled howitzer 2S1
  • APR-21 122 mm x 21 rockets
  • APR-40 122 mm x 40 rockets
  • LAROM MLRS 122 mm x 20 rockets (x 2 containers) / 160 mm x 13 rockets (x 2 containers)
  • ATROM 155 mm self-propelled howitzer system

Unmanned systems

Aircraft

  • IAR 316 training helicopter
  • IAR 330 utility helcopter
    • IAR 330 SOCAT attack helicopter
    • IAR 330 NAVAL naval helicopter
  • IAR 99 jet trainer and light attack aircraft
  • IAR-93 ground attack aircraft and low level interceptor

Warships

Weapons produced during World War II and the Interwar period

See also: List of Romanian military equipment of World War II

Non-self-propelled weapons

Romanian monthly armament production (October 1942)[29]

Model Number
Orița M1941 submachine gun 666
ZB vz. 30 machine gun 250
Brandt 60 mm mortar 26
Brandt 81 mm mortar 30
M1938 120 mm mortar 80
Rheinmetall 37 mm AA gun 6
Vickers 75 mm AA gun 5
Schneider 47 mm AT gun 14

AFVs

Main article: Romanian armored fighting vehicle production during World War II

Aircraft

See also: List of aircraft of the Romanian Air Force

Warships

Weapons produced during World War I and prior

Main article: Romanian military equipment of World War I

Artillery

  • 250 mm Negrei Model 1916 heavy mortar (unknown numbers)[36]
  • 57 mm Burileanu anti-aircraft gun system (132 built)[37]

AFVs

  • Automobil Blindat CFR 1915 armored car (2 built)[38]

Aircraft

See also: List of aircraft of the Romanian Air Force § Beginnings & World War I

Warships

See also

References

  1. ^ "INVESTITII: In transeele industriei de armament".
  2. ^ "Firmele româneşti de armament vor ca România să urgenteze semnarea Co…". Archived from the original on 7 September 2012.
  3. ^ "Industria de armament a vândut, în 2009, produse militare de 100 de milioane euro, spun producătorii - Cotidianul". Archived from the original on 2009-11-13. Retrieved 2009-11-30.
  4. ^ "Industria de armament nu se preda". Archived from the original on 16 July 2012.
  5. ^ Tsukanova, Anya (October 7, 2008). "Pirates shine spotlight on Ukraine arms-trafficking". Manila Times. Archived from the original on 11 December 2008. Retrieved 30 December 2008.
  6. ^ "Bulgaria's Arms Export Totals US$250 Million Annually". Archived from the original on 2009-08-18. Retrieved 2009-11-30.
  7. ^ "Godisnji izvestaj 2007" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2009-11-22. Retrieved 2009-11-30.
  8. ^ Adrian Stoica (14 May 2024). "Cartușe, lunete, parașute. Premieră după '89: România a exportat arme de peste 1 miliard €. Israelul, principalul client". jurnalul.ro (in Romanian).
  9. ^ Florin Jipa (17 April 2025). "România a importat arme în 2024 de 880 milioane euro și a exportat de 864 milioane euro. Mai mult de jumătate din importuri, peste 470 milioane euro, au venit din Bulgaria". monitorulapararii.ro (in Romanian).
  10. ^ Mark Axworthy, London: Arms and Armour, 1995, Third Axis, Fourth Ally: Romanian Armed Forces in the European War, 1941–1945, p. 75
  11. ^ Mark Axworthy, London: Arms and Armour, 1995, Third Axis, Fourth Ally: Romanian Armed Forces in the European War, 1941–1945, p. 149
  12. ^ John Walter, Greenhill Books, 2004, Guns of the Third Reich, p. 86
  13. ^ Mark Axworthy, London: Arms and Armour, 1995, Third Axis, Fourth Ally: Romanian Armed Forces in the European War, 1941–1945, p. 75
  14. ^ Mark Axworthy, London: Arms and Armour, 1995, Third Axis, Fourth Ally: Romanian Armed Forces in the European War, 1941–1945, pp. 29-30 and 75
  15. ^ Great Britain. Foreign Office, Ministry of Economic Warfare, 1944, Rumania Basic Handbook, p. 27
  16. ^ Mark Axworthy, London: Arms and Armour, 1995, Third Axis, Fourth Ally: Romanian Armed Forces in the European War, 1941–1945, pp. 147, 76 and 29
  17. ^ Mark Axworthy, London: Arms and Armour, 1995, Third Axis, Fourth Ally: Romanian Armed Forces in the European War, 1941–1945, pp. 29-30 and 75
  18. ^ Great Britain. Foreign Office, Ministry of Economic Warfare, 1944, Rumania Basic Handbook, p. 27
  19. ^ Mark Axworthy, London: Arms and Armour, 1995, Third Axis, Fourth Ally: Romanian Armed Forces in the European War, 1941–1945, pp. 147, 76 and 29
  20. ^ Mark Axworthy, London: Arms and Armour, 1995, Third Axis, Fourth Ally: Romanian Armed Forces in the European War, 1941–1945, p. 75
  21. ^ Mark Axworthy, London: Arms and Armour, 1995, Third Axis, Fourth Ally: Romanian Armed Forces in the European War, 1941–1945, photo album between pages 96 and 97 (page 12 of the album)
  22. ^ Mark Axworthy, London: Arms and Armour, 1995, Third Axis, Fourth Ally: Romanian Armed Forces in the European War, 1941–1945, pp. 30 and 75
  23. ^ Mark Axworthy, London: Arms and Armour, 1995, Third Axis, Fourth Ally: Romanian Armed Forces in the European War, 1941–1945, pp. 30 and 75
  24. ^ Mark Axworthy, London: Arms and Armour, 1995, Third Axis, Fourth Ally: Romanian Armed Forces in the European War, 1941–1945, pp. 29-30 and 75
  25. ^ Great Britain. Foreign Office, Ministry of Economic Warfare, 1944, Rumania Basic Handbook, p. 27
  26. ^ Mark Axworthy, London: Arms and Armour, 1995, Third Axis, Fourth Ally: Romanian Armed Forces in the European War, 1941–1945, pp. 149 and 235-237
  27. ^ Mark Axworthy, London: Arms and Armour, 1995, Third Axis, Fourth Ally: Romanian Armed Forces in the European War, 1941–1945, p. 29
  28. ^ Mark Axworthy, London: Arms and Armour, 1995, Third Axis, Fourth Ally: Romanian Armed Forces in the European War, 1941–1945, p. 29
  29. ^ Mark Axworthy, London: Arms and Armour, 1995, Third Axis, Fourth Ally: Romanian Armed Forces in the European War, 1941–1945, p. 75
  30. ^ Francesco Sorge, Giuseppe Genchi, Springer, 2015, Essays on the History of Mechanical Engineering, p. 144
  31. ^ Francesco Sorge, Giuseppe Genchi, Springer, 2015, Essays on the History of Mechanical Engineering, p. 144
  32. ^ Francesco Sorge, Giuseppe Genchi, Springer, 2015, Essays on the History of Mechanical Engineering, p. 144
  33. ^ Morgała, Andrzej (1997), Samoloty wojskowe w Polsce 1918-1924 [Military aircraft in Poland 1918-1924] (in Polish), Warsaw: Lampart, pp. 63 and 69
  34. ^ Bernád, Dénes, Rumanian Air Force: The Prime Decade 1938-1947, Carrollton, TX: Squadron/Signal Publications Inc, 1999, p. 45
  35. ^ Spencer C. Tucker, World War II at Sea: An Encyclopedia: An Encyclopedia, p. 633
  36. ^ Adrian Storea, Gheorghe Băjenaru, Artileria română în date și imagini (Romanian artillery in data and pictures), p. 54 (in Romanian)
  37. ^ Adrian Storea, Gheorghe Băjenaru, Artileria română în date și imagini (Romanian artillery in data and pictures), p. 63 (in Romanian)
  38. ^ "Exponatul lunii Martie 2025 | Începuturile automobiliștilor militari". muzeulmilitar.ro (in Romanian). 2025-03-11.
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