Arms industry in Romania

PSL sniper rifle
Small arms made by UM Cugir
LAROM multiple rocket launcher
B-33 Zimbru APC (licensed built BTR-80)
MLI-84M infantry fighting vehicle
TR-85M1 Bison tank
IAR 99 Șoim jet trainer and light attack aircraft
IAR 330 Puma Naval
Frigate Mărășești, the largest warship of the Romanian Navy ever built in Romania

Before 1989, Romania was among the top ten arms exporters in the world, however its arms industry declined considerably during the 1990s. Exports fell from roughly $1 billion before 1989 to about $43 million in 2006,[1] and the number of employees also fell from 220,000 in 1990 to 20,000 in 2009.[2] Sales to the Romanian Armed Forces have plunged after Romania's accession to NATO in 2004, as factories continue to produce Warsaw Pact-caliber weapons and ammunition, which are incompatible with their Western counterparts.

As of 2009, sales are roughly evenly divided between the Romanian state and foreign customers such as European Union and Arab countries such as Egypt, Algeria and Iraq.[3] Other countries which have shown interest in Romanian equipment include Afghanistan, Israel, Switzerland, the United States, the United Arab Emirates, India, Georgia and a slew of African countries.[4] There have been some signs of slight recovery, with exports reaching €141 million in 2009. However, the arms industry in Romania still lags behind neighboring countries such as Ukraine,[5] Bulgaria[6] and Serbia.[7]

In recent years, the Romanian government has called, unsuccessfully, for the lifting of the European Union arms embargo on the People's Republic of China.[citation needed]

Manufacturers

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Weapons and equipment

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Small arms

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AFVs

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Artillery

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Aircraft

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Weapons produced during World War II and the Interwar period

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120 mm Reșița mortar
37 mm Astra anti-aircraft gun
75 mm Reșița anti-tank gun
Mareșal tank destroyer
TACAM R-2 tank destroyer
IAR-80 fighter aircraft
Amiral Murgescu minelayer/destroyer escort

Non-self-propelled weapons

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Romanian monthly armament production (October 1942)[27]

Model Number
Orița M1941 submachine gun 666
ZB vz. 30 machine gun 250
Brandt 60 mm mortar 26
Brandt 81 mm mortar 30
M1938 120 mm mortar 80
Rheinmetall 37 mm AA gun 6
Vickers 75 mm AA gun 5
Schneider 47 mm AT gun 14

AFVs

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Aircraft

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Warships

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Weapons produced during World War I and prior

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250 mm Negrei mortar

Artillery

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Aircraft

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Warships

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References

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  1. ^ "INVESTITII: In transeele industriei de armament".
  2. ^ "Firmele româneşti de armament vor ca România să urgenteze semnarea Co…". Archived from the original on 7 September 2012.
  3. ^ "Industria de armament a vândut, în 2009, produse militare de 100 de milioane euro, spun producătorii - Cotidianul". Archived from the original on 2009-11-13. Retrieved 2009-11-30.
  4. ^ "Industria de armament nu se preda". Archived from the original on 16 July 2012.
  5. ^ Tsukanova, Anya (October 7, 2008). "Pirates shine spotlight on Ukraine arms-trafficking". Manila Times. Archived from the original on 11 December 2008. Retrieved 30 December 2008.
  6. ^ "Bulgaria's Arms Export Totals US$250 Million Annually". Archived from the original on 2009-08-18. Retrieved 2009-11-30.
  7. ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2009-11-22. Retrieved 2009-11-30.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  8. ^ Mark Axworthy, London: Arms and Armour, 1995, Third Axis, Fourth Ally: Romanian Armed Forces in the European War, 1941–1945, p. 75
  9. ^ Mark Axworthy, London: Arms and Armour, 1995, Third Axis, Fourth Ally: Romanian Armed Forces in the European War, 1941–1945, p. 149
  10. ^ John Walter, Greenhill Books, 2004, Guns of the Third Reich, p. 86
  11. ^ Mark Axworthy, London: Arms and Armour, 1995, Third Axis, Fourth Ally: Romanian Armed Forces in the European War, 1941–1945, p. 75
  12. ^ Mark Axworthy, London: Arms and Armour, 1995, Third Axis, Fourth Ally: Romanian Armed Forces in the European War, 1941–1945, pp. 29-30 and 75
  13. ^ Great Britain. Foreign Office, Ministry of Economic Warfare, 1944, Rumania Basic Handbook, p. 27
  14. ^ Mark Axworthy, London: Arms and Armour, 1995, Third Axis, Fourth Ally: Romanian Armed Forces in the European War, 1941–1945, pp. 147, 76 and 29
  15. ^ Mark Axworthy, London: Arms and Armour, 1995, Third Axis, Fourth Ally: Romanian Armed Forces in the European War, 1941–1945, pp. 29-30 and 75
  16. ^ Great Britain. Foreign Office, Ministry of Economic Warfare, 1944, Rumania Basic Handbook, p. 27
  17. ^ Mark Axworthy, London: Arms and Armour, 1995, Third Axis, Fourth Ally: Romanian Armed Forces in the European War, 1941–1945, pp. 147, 76 and 29
  18. ^ Mark Axworthy, London: Arms and Armour, 1995, Third Axis, Fourth Ally: Romanian Armed Forces in the European War, 1941–1945, p. 75
  19. ^ Mark Axworthy, London: Arms and Armour, 1995, Third Axis, Fourth Ally: Romanian Armed Forces in the European War, 1941–1945, photo album between pages 96 and 97 (page 12 of the album)
  20. ^ Mark Axworthy, London: Arms and Armour, 1995, Third Axis, Fourth Ally: Romanian Armed Forces in the European War, 1941–1945, pp. 30 and 75
  21. ^ Mark Axworthy, London: Arms and Armour, 1995, Third Axis, Fourth Ally: Romanian Armed Forces in the European War, 1941–1945, pp. 30 and 75
  22. ^ Mark Axworthy, London: Arms and Armour, 1995, Third Axis, Fourth Ally: Romanian Armed Forces in the European War, 1941–1945, pp. 29-30 and 75
  23. ^ Great Britain. Foreign Office, Ministry of Economic Warfare, 1944, Rumania Basic Handbook, p. 27
  24. ^ Mark Axworthy, London: Arms and Armour, 1995, Third Axis, Fourth Ally: Romanian Armed Forces in the European War, 1941–1945, pp. 149 and 235-237
  25. ^ Mark Axworthy, London: Arms and Armour, 1995, Third Axis, Fourth Ally: Romanian Armed Forces in the European War, 1941–1945, p. 29
  26. ^ Mark Axworthy, London: Arms and Armour, 1995, Third Axis, Fourth Ally: Romanian Armed Forces in the European War, 1941–1945, p. 29
  27. ^ Mark Axworthy, London: Arms and Armour, 1995, Third Axis, Fourth Ally: Romanian Armed Forces in the European War, 1941–1945, p. 75
  28. ^ Francesco Sorge, Giuseppe Genchi, Springer, 2015, Essays on the History of Mechanical Engineering, p. 144
  29. ^ Francesco Sorge, Giuseppe Genchi, Springer, 2015, Essays on the History of Mechanical Engineering, p. 144
  30. ^ Francesco Sorge, Giuseppe Genchi, Springer, 2015, Essays on the History of Mechanical Engineering, p. 144
  31. ^ Morgała, Andrzej (1997), Samoloty wojskowe w Polsce 1918-1924 [Military aircraft in Poland 1918-1924] (in Polish), Warsaw: Lampart, pp. 63 and 69
  32. ^ Bernád, Dénes, Rumanian Air Force: The Prime Decade 1938-1947, Carrollton, TX: Squadron/Signal Publications Inc, 1999, p. 45
  33. ^ Spencer C. Tucker, World War II at Sea: An Encyclopedia: An Encyclopedia, p. 633
  34. ^ Adrian Storea, Gheorghe Băjenaru, Artileria română în date și imagini (Romanian artillery in data and pictures), p. 54 (in Romanian)
  35. ^ Adrian Storea, Gheorghe Băjenaru, Artileria română în date și imagini (Romanian artillery in data and pictures), p. 63 (in Romanian)