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Romania Advances European Air Defense Capabilities with €626M Mistral MANPADS Procurement Deal.
Romania confirmed the purchase of Mistral man-portable air defence systems from France under a 625.591 million euro contract signed on 25 November 2025. Officials say the deal improves low-altitude protection as Russian drones and missiles continue to cross the region.
Romania’s Ministry of National Defence formally confirmed the acquisition of Mistral man-portable air defence systems from France under a contract worth 625.591 million euros excluding VAT, as reported by the Romanian authorities on 26 November 2025. Signed on 25 November between the Romanian and French defence ministries through their respective armaments directorates, the agreement covers launchers, missiles, training, simulators and logistic support. The purchase is framed within the European Joint Acquisition of Mistral System initiative and the EU Defence Industry Investment Plan built on the SAFE regulation, placing Bucharest among the first beneficiaries of new common European defence tools. For a NATO and EU frontline state sharing a 650-kilometre land border with Ukraine and repeatedly exposed to the effects of Russian drone and missile strikes, the contract responds directly to the growing threat at low altitude. It also signals Romania’s intention to anchor its rearmament in a broader European effort to strengthen layered air and missile defence on the eastern flank.
Romania has signed a 625.6 million Euro deal with France for Mistral air defence systems, a move that strengthens its low altitude protection and ties its rearmament to new EU-wide procurement frameworks (Picture Source: French MoD)
According to Romanian authorities, the contract encompasses the delivery of 231 Mistral MANPADS launch units and 934 missiles, along with comprehensive training services, simulators, technical documentation, initial logistics support, and related equipment. Officially designated as the “Portable Short-Range/Very Short-Range Anti-Aircraft Missile Systems, MANPAD Mistral” program, the initiative received parliamentary approval in 2022 as part of Romania’s broader, multi-billion-euro effort to modernize its air defense capabilities. The Ministry of National Defence underscores that the new systems will enhance the operational capacity of all service branches, including the Land Forces’ anti-aircraft units, the Air Force, the Naval Forces, for coastal and point defense, and the special operations forces. The procurement is conducted under the European “Joint Acquisition of Mistral System” framework, coordinated by France. This program consolidates demand among nine EU member states and is financially supported through the EDIRPA mechanism and the EU’s SAFE investment plan, thereby reducing individual national costs while ensuring larger, more efficient industrial orders for MBDA. Within Romania’s defense architecture, the Mistral MANPADS will integrate into a multi-layered system that already includes Patriot long-range systems, Hawk XXI batteries, Gepard self-propelled guns, the recently introduced South Korean Chiron MANPADS, and upcoming anti-drone solutions such as the U.S.-supplied Merops.
The Mistral family itself is the result of several decades of incremental development. Designed in France in the 1970s and 1980s on the basis of earlier very short-range surface-to-air concepts, the first operational Mistral entered service around 1990, followed by improved Mistral 2 missiles at the end of that decade and, from 2013, the current Mistral 3 standard. The latest version uses an imaging infrared seeker with advanced processing, a two-stage solid-propellant motor and a high-explosive warhead filled with dense tungsten balls. Official data indicate a maximum interception range of up to 8 km and an altitude envelope up to 6 km, with a high-supersonic speed of roughly 930 m/s and manoeuvrability of around 30 g, allowing engagement of fast and manoeuvring targets. The missile is fully fire-and-forget: once the seeker has locked onto the target via the MANPADS launcher’s thermal sight, the operator can fire without needing to track the aircraft or drone visually. Over successive iterations, Mistral has been qualified on multiple platforms: shoulder-type or tripod-mounted launch posts, light vehicle launchers, shipboard mounts for close-in defence and helicopter-borne ATAM pods. It is now in service, in various configurations, with more than two dozen armed forces and has seen operational use from Africa to the Middle East and, more recently, in Ukraine, where French and Estonian-supplied Mistral systems have been employed against Shahed-type attack drones.
From a capability standpoint, Romania is introducing a system positioned at the upper tier of the MANPADS category. The Mistral 3 combines extended engagement range and altitude for a very short‑range missile with a seeker designed to distinguish targets from flares or other decoys, contributing to a reported high probability of success in operational use. Compared with Romania’s legacy CA‑94 and CA‑95 systems, which were based on older Soviet Strela technology, Mistral provides notable improvements in seeker sophistication, resistance to countermeasures, and effectiveness against small, low‑signature threats such as drones and cruise missiles. In relation to other modern MANPADS already fielded by Romania, such as the South Korean Chiron acquired since 2024, Mistral operates in a similar range band of approximately 7–8 km but incorporates a newer imaging infrared seeker and is designed for integration across multiple platforms, including naval launchers and remote‑controlled turrets. Within the broader landscape of Western and Russian portable systems, it is comparable to the U.S. FIM‑92 Stinger, the Russian Igla family, and the Swedish RBS‑70 series. Unlike laser beam‑riding solutions such as RBS‑70, however, Mistral employs a passive guidance approach, avoiding emissions that could be detected or jammed and simplifying training and operation. For Romania, the combination of different MANPADS families, Chiron and now Mistral, within a unified command‑and‑control framework may enhance redundancy, diversify seeker technologies, and strengthen defenses against a wide spectrum of aerial threats.
Strategically, this contract goes beyond a simple bilateral purchase and reflects the convergence between national rearmament and emerging EU-level defence instruments. The Mistral joint procurement project is one of the first air defence programmes to receive EU financial support under EDIRPA, with a total of 1,500 missiles planned for nine Member States and partial funding of cooperation costs from Brussels. By joining this framework, Romania secures predictable access to a high-demand missile line at a time when MBDA is ramping up production under a war-economy model, while also contributing to a larger European pool of interoperable very short-range air defence assets. In regional terms, reinforcing very short-range air defence along the Danube and Black Sea axes directly addresses the pattern of Russian drone and missile strikes spilling over from Ukraine, including incidents in which debris has fallen on Romanian territory. Combined with Patriot, Hawk and forthcoming medium-range systems, Mistral MANPADS will help close gaps at low altitude above critical infrastructure, ports and forward-deployed units. Politically, the choice of a European missile produced by MBDA and acquired through a joint scheme led by France also carries a signal: Bucharest is aligning itself closely with the Franco-European vision of strengthened EU defence industrial sovereignty, while maintaining full compatibility with NATO structures and US-made systems already in service.
By formalizing the Mistral contract through a European joint acquisition framework rather than a solely national approach, Romania is effectively translating its political commitment to allocate over 2 percent of GDP to defense into a concrete enhancement of its air defense capabilities. This decision fortifies the short-range layer within a comprehensive, multi-altitude defense shield that spans from MANPADS and anti-drone systems to Patriot and forthcoming medium-range platforms. It also integrates Romanian units into an increasingly standardized European network of sensors, missiles, and command systems. Amid the prolonged conflict in Ukraine, the widespread use of inexpensive kamikaze drones, and increased pressure on Western missile inventories, Romania positions itself as both a strategic beneficiary and an active contributor to the evolving European defense industrial base centered on collective procurement and interoperability.
Written by Teoman S. Nicanci – Defense Analyst, Army Recognition Group
Teoman S. Nicanci holds degrees in Political Science, Comparative and International Politics, and International Relations and Diplomacy from leading Belgian universities, with research focused on Russian strategic behavior, defense technology, and modern warfare. He is a defense analyst at Army Recognition, specializing in the global defense industry, military armament, and emerging defense technologies.