Defence Minister’s meeting with Lockheed Martin CEO

Minister of National Defence, Angel Tîlvăr, met on Friday, February 14th, with Jim Taiclet, the CEO of Lockheed Martin Corporation, one of Romania's main partners in the field of industrial cooperation and military procurement.

The meeting took place as part of the Munich Security Conference, which took place during this period.

The talks focused on the status of the on-going Romanian Armed Forces procurement programs dealing with state-of-the-art systems manufactured by Lockheed Martin Corporation, and the identification of ways to render operational those that have already entered the service, as essential aspects to consolidate of national defence capabilities, special emphasis being placed on the transfer of technology and the development of the national defence industry. 

Angel Tîlvăr has emphasized that the Ministry of National Defence remains firmly committed to the decision to make the most of the industrial cooperation opportunities made available to the national economy by the procurement programs it plans and implements. The development of state-of-the-art capacities on the national territory or the co-optation of domestic economic agents within the maintenance processes throughout the life-cycle of the purchased equipment will contribute to the increase of Romania's strategic resilience.

"Stimulating cooperation between companies like Lockheed Martin and the Romanian defence industry ones, through joint projects and technology transfer, is a strategic priority. This direction is essential for developing the national defense industry capabilities and for increasing the involvement of Romanian companies in major military procurement and modernization programs", Minister Tîlvăr stated.

The American party confirmed, in this context, the interest in enhancing industrial cooperation with Romania, with the potential to generate new highly qualified jobs in the domestic defence industry and to stimulate economic growth in this essential sector.

Also, the CEO of Lockheed Martin reaffirmed the commitment to support Romania by accelerating the delivery schedule of the equipment contracted by our country.

Minister Tîlvăr commended the high quality of the products supplied by Lockheed Martin and highlighted the company's significant contribution to the Romanian Armed Forces’ transformation and modernization process throughout the 27 years of cooperation.

The hosting of the European F-16 Training Center on the national territory is among the ongoing successful joint projects, manifested by our country's commitment to offer Romanian and partner states’ pilots, including Ukraine, a high-standard training environment, with access to technical resources and state-of-the-art expertise. 

Minister of National Defence has restated, in this context, the fact that Romania allocates, for the ninth consecutive year, more than 2% of GDP to the Defence budget, of which more than 20% is intended for major purchase of modern technology, thus emphasizing the continuity and predictability of investments in strengthening national and regional security.

The Press Office