After Poland, Romania also wants to buy American Abrams tanks

WARSAW, Poland — Romania plans to buy a battalion’s worth of Abrams tanks from the United States, with a request to approve the acquisition expected to be sent shortly to the Romanian parliament, according to Maj. Gen. Teodor Incicaș, the head of the armaments directorate at the country’s Ministry of Defense.

Incicaș said in an interview with Observatorul Militar, a podcast produced by the ministry, that the tank type was selected after the General Staff of the Romanian Land Forces decided it was best suited to strengthen the service’s combat punch.

The military official did not disclose the variant and number of tanks that are to be purchased and the estimated delivery schedule. Local media reported that Bucharest could acquire as many as 54 units. The Abrams is expected to replace some of Romania’s outdated Soviet-times tanks.

The latest announcement comes as Romania and other Eastern European allies are accelerating their defense acquisitions in the aftermath of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

The planned procurement could make Romania the second operator of the U.S.-made tank in Eastern Europe after Poland’s government signed a deal worth about $4.75 billion to purchase 250 M1A2 Abrams SEPv3 tanks in April 2022. Deliveries began last year. In addition to that order, in January 2023, the Polish Ministry of National Defence inked a second contract, valued at some $1.4 billion, to acquire 116 used M1A1 Abrams from the U.S., with deliveries scheduled to begin this year.

Jaroslaw Adamowski is the Poland correspondent for Defense News.

波兰华沙——据罗马尼亚国防部军备局局长特奥多尔·因奇卡什少将称，罗马尼亚计划从美国购买一个营的艾布拉姆斯主战坦克，预计不久将向罗马尼亚议会提交采购批准申请。

因奇卡什在接受国防部制作的播客节目《军事观察家》采访时表示，罗马尼亚陆军总参谋部认为该坦克类型最适合增强该部队的战斗力，因此选择了该坦克类型。

这位军方官员没有透露将要采购的坦克型号、数量以及预计交付时间表。当地媒体报道称，布加勒斯特可能采购多达54辆坦克。预计艾布拉姆斯坦克将取代罗马尼亚部分老旧的苏联时期坦克。

在俄罗斯入侵乌克兰之后，罗马尼亚和其他东欧盟友正在加快国防采购，而最新公告正是在此背景下发布的。

罗马尼亚的这项采购计划可能使罗马尼亚成为东欧第二个使用美国制造的M1A2“艾布拉姆斯”主战坦克的国家。此前，波兰政府于2022年4月签署了一份价值约47.5亿美元的合同，购买了250辆M1A2“艾布拉姆斯”SEPv3主战坦克，并于去年开始交付。此外，波兰国防部于2023年1月签署了第二份价值约14亿美元的合同，从美国采购116辆二手M1A1“艾布拉姆斯”主战坦克，预计将于今年开始交付。

Jaroslaw Adamowski 是《防务新闻》驻波兰记者。