Piranha 5 8x8 armoured vehicle produced in Romania for the Army.

Friday, January 12, 2018, General Dynamics European Land Systems signed a contract to deliver up to 227 PIRANHA 5 8x8 wheeled armored vehicles in six different configurations to the Romanian Armed Forces. The contract has a total value exceeding $1 billion. It is part of the Romanian Army’s plan to modernize its legacy wheeled armored vehicle fleet.

Piranha 5 8x8 wheeled armoured vehicle personnel carrier (Picture source General Dynamics Land Systems)

Prime Minister Mihai Tudose and Deputy Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu attended the signing ceremony held at the National Defense Ministry headquarters.

The modern PIRANHA 5 vehicles will be produced in Romania under a strategic cooperation and transfer of technology project between General Dynamics European Land Systems - Mowag and the Romanian company Uzina Mecanică București (UMB).

Since 2006, the Romanian Armored Forces has fielded variants of PIRANHA vehicles which have been deployed in various missions in-country and abroad, demonstrating its reliability and performance.

“The Romanian Army is one of the most important PIRANHA users in Europe. We are very honored by this contract award as it reflects the high confidence and satisfaction the Romanian Army has in our vehicles,” said Oliver Dürr, Vice President Wheeled Vehicles and Managing Director of General Dynamics European Land Systems - Mowag.

“With this step, we have established a sustainable collaboration with a trusted partner which has a significant industrial footprint in Romania,” said Thomas Kauffmann, General Dynamics European Land Systems Vice President International Business & Services. “The transfer of technology and the local production of these vehicles present an enormous opportunity to the Romanian industry.”

With more than 11,000 systems fielded, the PIRANHA is one of the most successful 8x8 wheeled armored vehicles in the world.