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, and the number of employees also fell from 220,000 in 1990 to 20,000 in 2009. 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. 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. There have been some signs of slight recovery, with exports reaching €141 million in 2009. However, the arms industry in Romania still lagged behind neighboring countries such as Ukraine, Bulgaria and Serbia.
With the start of the war in Ukraine in 2022, Romania's arms exports sharply increased, passing over €1 billion worth of exports in 2023. In 2024, 864 million euros of arms exports were reported. Some of the top customers for Romanian arms, which included small arms, ammunition, optics and other subassemblies, were Israel, Ukraine, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic and the United States.
Manufacturers Aerostar Avioane Craiova Industria Aeronautică Română Romaero Autonomous Flight Technologies BlueSpace Technology Stimpex SA I.O.R. Pro Optica ROMARM
Uzinele Mecanice Cugir
Ploiești
Constanța Shipyard Galați shipyard Giurgiu shipyard
Weapons and equipment
Small arms
PA md. 86 assault rifle and carbine PM md. 63/65/90 assault rifle and carbine Pistol model 2000 handgun RATMIL SMG submachine gun Mitralieră md. 93 5.45×39mm LMG PM md. 64 7.62×39mm light machine gun PSL sniper rifle Dracula md. 98 machine pistol Mitraliera md. 66 7.62×54mmR Machine Gun PKT 7.62×54mmR Tank Machine Gun DShK 12,7x108mm Heavy Machine Gun ZPU 14,5x114mm x1 x2 x4 Heavy Machine Gun AG-7 rocket propelled grenade AG-9 Rocket propelled grenade CA-94 surface-to-air missile system SILENTA 6001 anti-drone rifle
Remote controlled weapon stations Pro Optica Anubis
AFVs
TR-77-580 main battle tank TR-85/TR-85 M1 main battle tank TR-125 main battle tank MLI-84/MLI-84M infantry fighting vehicle MLVM tracked armored personnel carrier Piranha V wheeled infantry fighting vehicle (produced under license) TAB-71 armored personnel carrier TAB-77 armored personnel carrier ABC-79M armored personnel carrier B33 Zimbru armored personnel carrier RN-94 armored personnel carrier Saur 1 armored personnel carrier Saur-2 armored personnel carrier ARO-244 ABI armored 4x4 vehicle Stimpex Dracon armored 4x4 vehicle CA-95 mobile anti-air missile system
Artillery
M30M 122 mm howitzer (modernized M1938 (M-30) variant) 30 mm x 3 towed anti-aircraft gun M1988 60 mm infantry mortar 81/82 mm infantry mortar 120 mm infantry mortar 76 mm mountain gun (based on the M48) 98 mm mountain howitzer M1977 100 mm antitank gun (similar to the 2A19/T-12) M1982 130 mm towed field gun M1954 (M-46) M1981 152 mm towed gun-howitzer M1955 (D-20) M1985 152 mm howitzer (based on the D-20, similar to the 2A65 Msta-B) M-1989 122 mm self-propelled howitzer 2S1 APR-21 122 mm x 21 rockets APR-40 122 mm x 40 rockets LAROM MLRS 122 mm x 20 rockets (x 2 containers) / 160 mm x 13 rockets (x 2 containers) ATROM 155 mm self-propelled howitzer system
Unmanned systems AFT Hirrus unmanned aerial vehicle
Aircraft
IAR 316 training helicopter IAR 330 utility helicopter IAR 330 SOCAT attack helicopter IAR 330 NAVAL naval helicopter IAR 99 jet trainer and light attack aircraft IAR-93 ground attack aircraft and low level interceptor
Warships
Mărășești frigate Admiral Petre Bărbuneanu-class corvette (2 ships) Rear-Admiral Eustațiu Sebastian-class corvette (2 ships) Cosar-class minelayer (2 ships) Musca-class minesweeper (4 ships) Mihail Kogălniceanu-class river monitor (3 ships) Smârdan-class riverine armored patrol boat (4 ships) Epitrop-class torpedo boat (12 ships) VD 141-class river minesweeper patrol boat (12 ships)
Weapons produced during World War II and the Interwar period
Non-self-propelled weapons VesselDesign/Licence OriginNumberNotesSubmachine guns Orița M1941 6000+ Local design, entered operational service with the Romanian Army in 1943 with a production rate of 666 pieces per month as of October 1942Mark Axworthy, London: Arms and Armour, 1995, Third Axis, Fourth Ally: Romanian Armed Forces in the European War, 1941–1945, p. 75 (6,000 produced until October 1943)Mark Axworthy, London: Arms and Armour, 1995, Third Axis, Fourth Ally: Romanian Armed Forces in the European War, 1941–1945, p. 149Machine guns ZB vz. 30 10,000 10,000 licence-built locally at Cugir after Czechoslovak design,John Walter, Greenhill Books, 2004, Guns of the Third Reich, p. 86 with a production rate of 250 pieces per month as of October 1942Mark Axworthy, London: Arms and Armour, 1995, Third Axis, Fourth Ally: Romanian Armed Forces in the European War, 1941–1945, p. 75Mortars Brandt Mle 1935 1,115+ Licence acquired from France to produce 175 mortars at the Voina Works in Brașov, but the number specified by the licence was far exceeded during the war, with a production rate of 26 pieces per month as of October 1942Mark Axworthy, London: Arms and Armour, 1995, Third Axis, Fourth Ally: Romanian Armed Forces in the European War, 1941–1945, pp. 29-30 and 75Great Britain. Foreign Office, Ministry of Economic Warfare, 1944, Rumania Basic Handbook, p. 27 (1,115 such mortars were built in Romania by mid-1943)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 Brandt Mle 27/31 456+ Licence acquired from France to produce 410 mortars at the Voina Works in Brașov, but the number specified by the licence was far exceeded during the war, with a production rate of 30 pieces per month as of October 1942Mark Axworthy, London: Arms and Armour, 1995, Third Axis, Fourth Ally: Romanian Armed Forces in the European War, 1941–1945, pp. 29-30 and 75Great Britain. Foreign Office, Ministry of Economic Warfare, 1944, Rumania Basic Handbook, p. 27 (456 such mortars were built in Romania by mid-1943)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 M1938 500+ Captured and reverse-engineered Soviet model, produced at the Reșița Works with a production rate of 80 pieces per month as of October 1942Mark Axworthy, London: Arms and Armour, 1995, Third Axis, Fourth Ally: Romanian Armed Forces in the European War, 1941–1945, p. 75 (in total, over 500 of these mortars were built)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)Anti-aircraft guns 3.7 cm flak 360 360 produced under German licence at the Astra Works beginning with 1938, with 102 delivered by May 1941 and a production rate of 6 pieces per month as of October 1942Mark Axworthy, London: Arms and Armour, 1995, Third Axis, Fourth Ally: Romanian Armed Forces in the European War, 1941–1945, pp. 30 and 75 75 mm Vickers 200 100 built under British licence by the Reșița Works beginning with 1936, with 100 delivered by mid-1941 and then a second batch of 100 started in July 1941 outside the licence, the production rate being of 5 pieces per month as of October 1942Mark Axworthy, London: Arms and Armour, 1995, Third Axis, Fourth Ally: Romanian Armed Forces in the European War, 1941–1945, pp. 30 and 75Anti-tank guns 140+ Licence acquired from France to produce 140 guns at the Concordia Works in Ploiești, but the number specified by the licence was far exceeded during the war, with a production rate of 14 pieces per month as of October 1942Mark Axworthy, London: Arms and Armour, 1995, Third Axis, Fourth Ally: Romanian Armed Forces in the European War, 1941–1945, pp. 29-30 and 75Great Britain. Foreign Office, Ministry of Economic Warfare, 1944, Rumania Basic Handbook, p. 27 75 mm Reșița 375 Native design combining features from several foreign models, a total of 210 pieces were produced at the Reșița Works, 120 at the Astra Works in Brașov and 42 at the Concordia Works in Ploiești in addition to three prototypesMark Axworthy, London: Arms and Armour, 1995, Third Axis, Fourth Ally: Romanian Armed Forces in the European War, 1941–1945, pp. 149 and 235-237Field artillery 100 mm Skoda - The Astra Works in Romania manufactured gun barrels for these piecesMark Axworthy, London: Arms and Armour, 1995, Third Axis, Fourth Ally: Romanian Armed Forces in the European War, 1941–1945, p. 29 150 mm Skoda - The Astra Works in Romania manufactured gun barrels for these piecesMark Axworthy, London: Arms and Armour, 1995, Third Axis, Fourth Ally: Romanian Armed Forces in the European War, 1941–1945, p. 29
Romanian monthly armament production (October 1942)Mark Axworthy, London: Arms and Armour, 1995, Third Axis, Fourth Ally: Romanian Armed Forces in the European War, 1941–1945, p. 75 ModelNumberOrița M1941 submachine gun 666ZB vz. 30 machine gun 250Brandt 60 mm mortar 26Brandt 81 mm mortar 30M1938 120 mm mortar 80Rheinmetall 37 mm AA gun 6Vickers 75 mm AA gun 5Schneider 47 mm AT gun 14
AFVs
Aircraft
IAR 14 fighter (21 built) IAR 80 fighter (450 built) IAR 37 reconnaissance and light bomber (50 built) IAR 38 reconnaissance and light bomber (75 built) IAR 39 reconnaissance and light bomber (255 built) Morane-Saulnier MS 35 (42 built)Francesco Sorge, Giuseppe Genchi, Springer, 2015, Essays on the History of Mechanical Engineering, p. 144 Potez 25 (260 built)Francesco Sorge, Giuseppe Genchi, Springer, 2015, Essays on the History of Mechanical Engineering, p. 144 Fleet 10G (~430 built)Francesco Sorge, Giuseppe Genchi, Springer, 2015, Essays on the History of Mechanical Engineering, p. 144 PZL P.11 (95 built)Morgała, Andrzej (1997), Samoloty wojskowe w Polsce 1918-1924 [Military aircraft in Poland 1918-1924] (in Polish), Warsaw: Lampart, pp. 63 and 69 PZL P.24 (30 built)Bernád, Dénes, Rumanian Air Force: The Prime Decade 1938-1947, Carrollton, TX: Squadron/Signal Publications Inc, 1999, p. 45
Warships Amiral Murgescu minelaying destroyer escort Rechinul submarine Marsuinul submarine Democrația-class minesweeper (4 built) Dutch-designed torpedo boats (6 built)Spencer C. Tucker, World War II at Sea: An Encyclopedia, p. 633 S-boats (over 10 re-assembled for the Kriegsmarine) Type IIB U-boats (6 re-assembled for the Kriegsmarine)
Weapons produced during World War I and prior
Artillery 250 mm Negrei Model 1916 heavy mortar (unknown numbers)Adrian Storea, Gheorghe Băjenaru, Artileria română în date și imagini (Romanian artillery in data and pictures), p. 54 (in Romanian) 57 mm Burileanu anti-aircraft gun system (132 built)Adrian Storea, Gheorghe Băjenaru, Artileria română în date și imagini (Romanian artillery in data and pictures), p. 63 (in Romanian)
AFVs Automobil Blindat CFR 1915 armored car (2 built)
Aircraft
A Vlaicu I trainer (1 built) A Vlaicu II trainer (1 built) A Vlaicu III trainer (1 built) Farman III trainer (7 built) Bréguet-Michelin, Bréguet 5, Caudron G.4, Farman F.40, Nieuport (11, 17, 21, 23, 24bis), Sopwith Strutter, SPAD VII (242-292 assembled)
Warships Brătianu-class river monitor (4 assembled)
See also List of equipment of the Romanian Armed Forces
References