The first lot of PIRANHA V was delivered to the Ministry of National Defence of Romanian

BUCHAREST (Romania), October 6 - General Dynamics European Land Systems (GDELS) - Mowag, a unit of U.S.-based General Dynamics Corporation and its strategic Romanian partner Uzina Mecanica Bucuresti (UMB) have started deliveries of Piranha V military vehicles to the Romanian army, the defence ministry said on Tuesday.

The first 36 Piranha 5 vehicles will arrive in the following days to their final beneficiaries, the defence ministry said in a press release.

Romanian Defence Minister Nicolae-Ionel Ciucă and the chief of Defence Staff , Lieutenant General Daniel Petrescu, participated on Monday, 5th October, at Uzina Mecanică București S.A, in the closure of the stage marking the qualitative reception of the first lot of 8x8, PIRANHA V APCs.

“The first 36 PIRANHA V APCs will be delivered to their beneficiaries, the “Red Scorpions” from Craiova, after having their qualitative reception made. I am confident that these will also pass their operational testing process and will perfectly fit within the Land Forces’ units , which need a vehicle that can provide for their mobility, increased fire power but also more protection during their mission accomplishment”, Nicolae-Ionel Ciucă said.

In January 2018, GDELS-Mowag signed a 868 million euro ($1.02 billion) contract with the Romanian army to deliver up to 227 Piranha 5 wheeled armored vehicles in six different configurations. 

Romania, which joined NATO in 2004, plans to spend a total of 9.8 billion euro until 2026 to boost its defence capabilities.

UMB is a subsidiary of state-owned Romanian supplier of military equipment Romarm. The company's main activities are the research, design, production, repair and modernization of armored vehicles. 

General Dynamics European Land Systems-Mowag is a Europe based business unit of General Dynamics Corporation. Headquartered in Madrid, GDELS-Mowag employs some 2,400 at its sites in Austria, the Czech Republic, Germany, Spain and Switzerland. Its products range from wheeled armored and tracked combat vehicles to amphibious bridges and ferry systems.