EcoMin Badalau:Romania to associate with Italian firearm producer Beretta to produce two new types of rifles

Romania will associate with the Italian firearms producer Beretta in view of manufacturing, at the Mechanic Plant in Plopeni of Prahova County, two types of weapons, Economy Minister Nicolae Badalau announced on Thursday.

According to him, the Romanian state and the Italian company will establish a new company, in which the Romanian side will own 80 percent of the shares.

"We have to switch from 7.62 with the Romanian Army (...) to NATO caliber and these weapons that the Romanian Army tested with the special troops in Targu Mures, where a report was drafted and the people there stated that this type of weapons ARX 160 is the type that the Romanian Army would like to include in its endowment. Based on that, we discussed with them and made a contract. We will make an association. The Plant will be built in Plopeni, with the Romanian side owning 80 percent," Badalau stated at B1 TV private broadcaster.

The Economy Minister mentioned that two types of assault rifles will be manufactured in Plopeni, including the ARX 160 rifle, which will be capitalised both on the domestic and foreign market.

"We have the foreign market and we have our first beneficiary, the Romanian Army, which should switch from that Kalashnikov of the '60s, because we are sending them in theaters of war with Kalashnikovs. We have to provide, as suppliers, as producers, we must provide the best armament to the Romanian Army," Badalau added.

He also mentioned that "the defence industry benefits in 2019 from an execution budget that is ten times higher than last years' execution budget."

The Economy Minister also stated that his objective is to re-start the national defence industry, taking into account that the the EU level, 70 percent of the armament production is used in the producing countries, while in Romania, the Army benefits from less than 10 percent of weapons produced internally.