Romania wants to buy French Scorpene class submarines and helicopters.

According to information published by Bursa on July 15, 2022, the Romanian Minister of Defense, Vasile Dincu, said during an interview that he has signed a letter of intent to buy French-made Scorpene class submarines and helicopters.
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Artist rendering about the French Scorpene class submarine (Picture source: Naval Group)

The Romanian Minister of Defence said that they have learned the lessons from what is happening in Ukraine and they want to see in the coming period whether the initial programming of the Armed Forces 2040 project, which passed the Supreme Council of National Defence two years ago, still meets the current requirements or not.

He said that the national defense industry could benefit from rapid development following the establishment by NATO of the Defence Innovation Accelerator (DIANA), which is funded in the first phase with €2 billion.

About the Scorpene class submarines

The Scorpène-class submarines are a class of diesel-electric attack submarines jointly developed by the French Naval Group (formerly the Direction des Constructions Navales) and the Spanish company Navantia. 

The Scorpène class of submarines has four subtypes including the CM-2000 conventional diesel-electric version, the AM-2000 air-independent propulsion (AIP) derivative, the downsized CA-2000 coastal submarine, and the enlarged S-BR for the Brazilian Navy, without AIP. The Scorpéne-class submarines are in service with Chile, Malaysia, India, and Brazil.

The Scorpène submarine is capable of carrying out all types of missions, such as anti-surface vessel warfare, anti-submarine warfare, long-range strikes, special operations, or intelligence gathering. It is extremely stealthy and fast, and is equipped with a comprehensive range of weapons (torpedoes, missiles, mines).

The Scorpène submarine can carry 18 torpedoes and missiles or 30 mines. It is equipped with six bow-located 21in torpedo tubes providing salvo launch capability. Positive discharge launching is by an air turbine pump. It can launch anti-ship and anti-submarine torpedoes, as well as anti-surface missiles. The handling and loading of weapons are automated.