National Defence Minister Mihai Fifor stated on Saturday that the Naval Forces are preparing to finalise the conception related to the three submarines that the Romanian Army wishes in its endowment.
He underscored that in the context in which Romania is the main provider of security and stability in the Black Sea, it must have very well established deterrence and assurance capability of this part of the eastern flank.
"In the context of the illegal occupation by the Russian Federation of the Crimean Peninsula in 2014, things have been very tense in the Black Sea. There are challenges and we have been talking about these things. Therefore, it is natural for Romania, which is the main supplier of security and stability in the Black Sea, to be able to have a very well established deterrence and assurance capability of this part of the Eastern flank. For this, we basically have this allocation [2 percent of the GDP] and for that, Romania's Government is making all the efforts so that the major endowment programmes of the Romanian Armed Forces can be carried out. This year in February, we already paid the first HIMARS missile system, we are in the phase in which we are preparing to pay the second Patriot missiles system, we have in full swing the acquisition procedure for the four multi-functional corvettes from the offset of which there will be upgraded two frigates that we've bought from the British Navy a few years ago and here we are, this week, with a new programme, the one regarding the coastal batteries or the mobile missile launching systems," the Defense Minister said.
Mihai Fifor is attending the events organised in Vaslui for the celebration of the Greater Union Centennial and the commemoration of 75 years since the death of Marshal Constantin Prezan.