Romania has agreed a deal to acquire VAMTAC ST5 BN2 tactical armoured vehicles from Spanish supplier Urovesa, as the country continues its military modernisation programme.
The future integration of the ST5 platforms from Urovesa will see the addition of a European design into Romania’s tactical armoured mobility force structure.
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As detailed in a 28 May contract notice posted by the Romanian Ministry of National Defence (MND), the deal, valued at just short of €10m ($11.3m), will see the delivery of 24 of the ST5 BN2 vehicles at a per unit cost of €416,000.
The deal, to be undertaken on behalf of the MND through state-owned enterprise Romtehnica, does not specify delivery timelines.
Urovesa’s VAMTEC ST5 4×4 can be configured from general cargo to troop carrier variants, adding additional armour and integrated weapons systems, to fulfill a range of operational requirements.
The platform is in service with the armed forces of Spain and Portugal, as well as other international militaries and security services.
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By GlobalDataIn 2024, New Zealand signed an agreement with Urovesa for the provision of 60 VAMTAC ST5 and CK3 vehicles, with deliveries beginning in 2027.
Romanian defence spending: tactical mobility
Romania’s defence spending, having seen a modest increase from 2020-2022, saw a significant rise after 2023, registering a year-on-year increase of 53.3%, according to GlobalData’s country report.
Looking ahead, Romania is forecast to see annual defence spending increase to $9.7bn by 2029, which given the size of the economy will see the country regularly exceed a 3% spend as a proportion of GDP.
Romania has also increased acquisition spending to 41.7% of the total budget, intending to modernise air, ground, sea, and air defence systems.
In terms of tactical mobility in its land forces, Romania operates a range of US-origin platforms including an unknown number of HMMWV M1114 platforms provided by AM General, and 30 of the M1151A1 variants which were delivered between 2018-2019, also from the same manufacturer.
Other armoured multirole platforms include 33 JLTVs delivered by Oshkosh Defense in 2023 and 60 M1224 MaxxPro vehicles, delivered in 2010 by International Trucks.
