The Armed Forces of the Republic of Moldova have taken delivery of the first batch of Piranha-3 H armored personnel carriers (APC) as part of a support package funded by Germany.
On January 12, three vehicles were officially handed over in a ceremony at Military camp No. 142 in Moldova’s capital Chişinău.
Germany will be delivering a total of 19 Piranha-3 APCs, with all vehicles set to be delivered by the end of the year. The donation is based on an agreement signed with the German side and as a result of the official visit of German defense minister Christine Lambrecht to Chisinau in October last year.
It is worth noting that the vehicles were formerly operated by the Danish Army and were purchased by Germany for Moldova. It remains unclear whether the vehicles transferred to Moldova are those that Denmark planned to send to Ukraine last summer but was prevented from doing so after Switzerland blocked the transfer.
“This batch of equipment comes to replace the old vehicles of the National Army with new ones. The received carriers are to be assigned to the 22nd “Blue Helmets” peacekeeping battalion for the purpose of training, but also to increase interoperability,” said Anatolie Nosatîi, Moldova’s defense minister.
“The German-Moldovan cooperation in the field of defense has thus reached a new level of quality. This delivery, as part of the National Army Modernization Initiative with the support of the German federal government, improves the defense capacity of the Republic of Moldova and its capabilities to participate in international peacekeeping missions. This participation is highly appreciated internationally,” Ulrich Kinne, deputy head of mission at the German embassy in Moldova.
Denmark operated over a 100 Piranha 3 armored vehicles in different configurations, replacing them with the Piranha 5. The country ordered over 300 units in 2016, with final vehicles set to be delivered by the end of 2023.
