Construction of the first Piranha 5 wheeled armored vehicle for the Romanian Army kicked off with an official ceremony earlier this month.
The vehicles are being built by General Dynamics European Land Systems (GDELS) in cooperation with its strategic Romanian partner Uzina Mecanică București (UMB).
The production start ceremony was attended by the Romanian prime minister Ludovic Orban, defense minister Nicolae Ciuca, as well as the US ambassador to Romania, Hans Klemm, and Swiss ambassador to Romania, Arthur Mattli.
In January 2018, GDELS signed a contract with the Romanian Army to deliver up to 227 Piranha 5 wheeled armored vehicles as part of the army’s plan to modernize its legacy TAB APC wheeled armored vehicle fleet.
The Piranha will be delivered in six different configurations, under a transfer of technology project between GDELS – Mowag and the Romanian company Uzina Mecanică București (UMB).
“The strategic cooperation between GDELS and the UMB is an excellent example on how we plan to modernize our armed forces with modern technology. It also represents a great opportunity for our Romanian economy to strengthen and sustain our national industry base in this important segment including export opportunities. I am proud to say, that 80% of the investment we take in this project will return to the benefit of our local economy.” stated Orban.
