Defence Minister’s agenda during BSDA

On Thursday, May 14^th, the Minister of National Defence, Radu Miruță, had a series of meetings with representatives of the defence industry and participated in several conferences and round tables organized in the context of Black Sea Defense, Aerospace and Security (BSDA) 2026 international exhibition.

During the meeting with Vice Admiral Nigel Maddox, Senior Military Adviser to the UK Department for International Trade, Minister Miruță emphasized the importance of Romania's bilateral collaboration with the United Kingdom of Great Britain in order to increase our country's defence capacity, including in the field of equipping and strengthening the national defence industry.

The two officials discussed the UK's experience in operating the F35 aircraft and analyzed ways to collaborate on the specific infrastructure for this type of aircraft. Minister Miruță and Vice Admiral Maddox also referred to cooperation in the counter-drone field, where the Romanian Armed Force has already started collaborating with relevant companies to test products in a real environment.

Also, the Minister of National Defence participated in the panel "Security that creates value - from resilience to competitiveness: industry and security as economic engine", organized by the French Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture in Romania.

Radu Miruță also brought to attention the counter-drone defense capacity, which Romania needs in a very short time, and the involvement of the national defence industry to achieve this goal. "At this moment, the Romanian defence industry cannot, unfortunately, face these challenges alone", the Minister stated. In this context, the Romanian official drew to attention again the collaboration with private companies to test drones and counter-drone systems in real conditions.

With respect to the ongoing procurement programmes, the minister announced that they are public and published on the MoND website, and mentioned that, although the criteria to be met are quite strict, they apply to all companies. "Even if the ministry is not a direct decision-making factor in the economic area, we have every interest in the private sector evolving, and the companies that manufacture for MoND developing on the national territory," the minister added, assuring the audience of the military institution's full openness to effectively interact with the French companies.

The Minister of National Defence also took part, in the context of BSDA 2026, in the "Space as a Transversal Strategic Domain" Round Table which took place at the Ramada Hotel, in Bucharest.

Radu Miruță delivered a speech, both from the perspective of government coordination and the way in which space capabilities support the operational objectives of the MoND. In the organizers’ opinion, space has become a transversal capability that supports defence, internal security, economy, foreign policy and national resilience. The officials proposed the shift of the defence sector beyond the traditional research framework, towards an inter-agency pattern, in which several portfolios contribute to the priorities, programs and funding of space capabilities.

Also, the Minister of National Defence met with the ORACLE company’s leadership.

The minister visited, throughout the day, several stands of local and foreign manufacturers of military equipment, insisting on the viability of their offers and their ability to provide products that can be tested by the armed forces.

The Press Office