The Romanian Border Police announced that 12 Ford Ranger Raptor offroad 4x4 cars were added to its fleet. They are just the first of 50 such vehicles purchased with non-refundable European funds through the Internal Security Fund.

“The new vehicles, equipped to state-of-the-art standards, will be used to carry out specific patrol missions in off-road conditions, being intended to ensure an increased ability to progress in difficult-to-access terrain, with the aim of increasing the efficiency of the missions performed and the quality of land border surveillance,” the Border Police said in a press release.

A total of 50 Ford Ranger Double Cab Raptor special vehicles will be added to the Romanian Border Police’s fleet under a contract worth approximately RON 16 million (some EUR 3.2 million). The remaining 38 cars are to be delivered by the end of this year.

“Romania is in full process of accession to the Schengen Area. Every movement, action, and decision must be well calibrated to achieve the strategic objective of becoming a Schengen member country as soon as possible. […] You are part of this joint effort and have an obligation to strengthen the institutional capacity of the Border Police to modernize and meet the challenges of the times we are going through. And from this perspective, the Border Police is the guarantor of the integration of the national borders and the external borders of the European Union,” said Lucian Bode, the Romanian minister of internal affairs.

In her turn, Roxana Capătă, Managing Director of Ford Romania, said this is the first time that a model from the Ford Performance range has entered the endowment of a state institution in Romania.

The Ford Ranger Double Cab Raptor is equipped with a 4x4 transmission system for offroad conditions, having the entire suspension redesigned (shock absorbers with increased pickup capacities), and LED projectors with an intensity of 5000 lumens for the surveillance of border areas.

They are designed to be used in difficult-to-access or even flooded areas, having a multitude of high-performance technical characteristics. For example, the vehicles have an elevated engine air intake that allows them to cross flooded areas with a depth of 80 cm.

irina.marica@romania-insider.com

(Photo source: Politiadefrontiera.ro)