Romania and Ukraine discuss joint drone production
Romanian and Ukrainian officials are meeting in Bucharest to discuss a 200 million euro joint drone project. This initiative uses new EU rearmament funding.
Ukrainian drone manufacturers are meeting with defense ministry and army officials in Bucharest this week to discuss potential joint production under a new European Union rearmament funding mechanism. Romania, an EU and NATO member, shares a 650-kilometer land border with Ukraine and has experienced several instances of drone fragments falling onto its territory since Russia began targeting ports across the Danube. The EU has allocated Romania 16.6 billion euros ($19.2 billion) under its new rearmament initiative, SAFE, which is scheduled to begin later this year. Defence Minister Radu Miruta stated that the country aims to spend 200 million euros of this allocation on joint drone production. > "We are currently discussing how to form a team to deal exclusively with this project, with the contract signing deadline being the end of May," Miruta said in a statement following a meeting with Ukraine's Deputy Minister for Strategic Industries Sergiy Boyev. Fifteen Ukrainian companies are expected to continue discussions in the Romanian capital over the coming days. This project follows a statement of intent signed earlier this month by the Romanian and Ukrainian presidents to produce defense systems, including drones, in Romania.
