Romania signs deal to buy French Mistral air defence systems

BUCHAREST (Reuters) -Romania's defence ministry said it will buy French Mistral air defence systems worth more than 626 million euros ($726 million), part of a joint procurement deal with several other European Union states.

The ministry said it signed a deal on Tuesday with the French defence ministry for the purchase of 231 Mistral man-portable air-defense systems (MANPADS) - built by missile producer MBDA - and 934 missiles alongside training, simulator and logistics.

The statement did not specify when the equipment would be delivered. Romanian lawmakers first approved the acquisition plan in 2022.

Romania, a EU and NATO state, shares a 650-km (400 mile) land border with Ukraine and has had drones breach its airspace and fragments fall onto its territory repeatedly since Russia began attacking Kyiv's ports across the Danube.

Romanian air defences currently include F-16 fighter jets, Patriot systems, Lockheed Martin's HIMARS rocket launchers, short-range South Korean surface-to-air Chiron missiles and German anti-aircraft Gepard guns.

The country also aims to partner with Ukraine to build drones under a new European Union defence funding mechanism.

Romania is also in the final stages of deploying the new Merops anti-drone system supplied by the United States, Romanian and U.S. defence officials have said.

($1 = 0.8628 euros)

(Reporting by Luiza Ilie; Editing by Alexandra Hudson)