General Dynamics [GD] European Land Systems has received a contract for over a $1 billion to deliver over two hundred Piranha 5 wheeled armored vehicles to the Romanian Armed Forces.
The deal, signed Friday at a ceremony with Romania’s prime minister Mihai Tudose, calls for GD to produce six configurations of the Piranha 5 vehicles in six configurations in collaboration with Romanian company Uzina Mecanică București.
Production will take place in Romania, with five of the total 227 vehicles expected to be delivered in 2018.
“The Romanian Army is one of the most important PIRANHA users in Europe. We are very honored by this contract award as it reflects the high confidence and satisfaction the Romanian Army has in our vehicles,” Oliver Dürr, managing director of GDELS-Mowag, said in a statement.
The deal arrives as Romania looks to modernize its wheeled armored vehicle fleet. Romanian Armed Forces have utilized variants of legacy PIRANHA vehicles since 2006.
“With this step, we have established a sustainable collaboration with a trusted partner which has a significant industrial footprint in Romania,” Thomas Kauffmann, vice president of international business & services for GDELS, in a statement. “The transfer of technology and the local production of these vehicles present an enormous opportunity to the Romanian industry.”