Ministry of National Defence
Press release No. 290 06.09.2017
US Congress Approved Acquisition of HIMARS

On Wednesday, September 6th, the Ministry of National Defence was informed by
the US Embassy in Romania that the US Congress approved Romania's request to purchase the High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems HIMARS, in agreement with the American standard procedures.

The program is now in an intermediate stage, as following the approval of the US Congress, there will be technical talks and negotiations to determine the final configuration of the acquisition, as well as the technology transfer options and the involvement of the national defence industry in providing the necessary equipment for production and maintenance.

Related to the HIMARS procurement program, Romania requested the acquisition of 54 HIMARS launchers and auxiliary equipment for three combat battalions.

The choice to equip the Romanian Armed Forces with the HIMARS system derives from the need to have modern artillery equipment, able to contribute to strengthening the national defence capability and to increase interoperability with the allied forces, by having in place a reliable deterrence capability.

The acquisition of HIMARS is one of the main eight procurement programs established in the 2017 - 2026 Romanian Defence Procurement Plan for which the Parliament agreed, in May this year, to initiate of the procedures to assign the relevant contracts.

HIMARS is one of the most precise combat support systems tested and used in live missions by the US Army and Marine Corps. It has the technical superiority that simplifies coalition operations, enhances the interoperability between US forces and the allied troops, it is affordable and sustainable.
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HIMARS is the second request for a US missile system to receive the approval of the US Congress this year, after the acquisition of seven surface-to-air PAC-3 PATRIOT missiles that underwent the same procedure last month.

Press Department