WARSAW, Poland — The Romanian government has approved and sent to the parliament a draft bill that will allow the country to buy Naval Strike Missile coastal defense systems through a foreign military sales (FMS) procedure.
“The anti-ship missile systems that are to be purchased include, but are not limited to, four mobile launch vehicles, a platform for command, control and communications, transport and loading/unloading platforms, sensors, initial logistics support, maintenance and testing equipment,” the Romanian Ministry of National Defence said in a statement.
Developed by Raytheon and Kongsberg, the NSM is a sea-skimming, over-the-horizon, anti-ship missile. Last October, the U.S. State Department approved its potential sale after Bucharest requested to purchase two coastal defense systems.
The potential contract is estimated at roughly $286 million, but its precise value is to be determined when the acquisition procedure begins, according to the ministry.
Previous estimates put the procurement’s expected value at €137 million, or $166.5 million. Under Romanian law, purchases of weapons and military equipment worth more than €100 million must be approved by the country’s parliament.
The ministry said it aimed to acquire the systems by 2024.
The Romanian center-right coalition government controls a majority of the seats in both the upper and lower chamber of the parliament which means that lawmakers are most likely to pass the government’s bill.
Jaroslaw Adamowski is the Poland correspondent for Defense News.
