The Turkish armaments company Otokar has announced that it has received an important order from the Romanian armed forces. As part of this 865 million euro contract, Otokar is to deliver up to 1,059 Cobra II 4×4 armored vehicles to the Romanian army. Around 75 percent of these vehicles – 781 to be precise – are to be assembled in Romania.
For Otokar, this order is one of the largest international contracts in the company’s history. The company believes that this not only strengthens its presence on the European market, but also the Turkish arms industry in general. Last year, Turkish arms exports rose to a record high of just over five billion euros, which corresponds to growth of around 25 percent compared to 2022. As already mentioned, the majority of the vehicles – 781 out of 1,059 – are to be assembled in Romania. There was a specification in the tender for the project in this regard. At least half of the vehicles were to be manufactured in Romania. According to media reports, the competing bid submitted by Oshkosh with its Joint Light Tactical Vehicle (JLTV) failed to meet this requirement. The first tranche, which consists of the remaining 278 vehicles, is still being produced at the Otokar plants in Turkey. https://militaeraktuell.at/kommandouebergabe-jaegerbataillon-burgenland/
The 1,059 vehicles are supplied in a total of nine configurations. Thanks to a modular design, the basic model can be converted into eight further versions. In addition to the military versions, Cobra II is suitable for troop transport, as a weapons platform, for CBRN reconnaissance, as a ground surveillance radar, as a medical vehicle and as a command vehicle, as well as for border protection and internal security. The Cobra II project is further proof of Romania’s armament over the past decade. The country’s defense spending increased from around 2.5 billion euros in 2014 to over 7.8 billion euros in the current year’s budget. Official NATO-figures, spending now amounts to over 2.25 percent of GDP – which is above the NATO target of two percent. However, this is not the end of the story, as the south-eastern European country is currently considering the procurement of F-35A fighter jets (-> Lockheed also successful with F-35 in Romania). In addition, a contract worth 920 million euros was signed in July with the South Korean company Hanwha Aerospace for the delivery of 54 K9 Thunder 155 millimeter howitzers and numerous K10 supply vehicles.
