Romania will pay in advance for the seven air defense Patriot missile systems that the country will acquire from the US.

The Patriot program’s total cost is some USD 3.9 billion without VAT, according to a draft law drawn by the Defense Ministry, which is now in public debate, reports local Profit.ro.

Romania will buy the first such missile system for USD 764.7 million, plus VAT, by the end of this year.

The Letter of Offer and Acceptance (LOA) contracts provide that the payment needs to be done before the product is delivered. Moreover, the payment needs to be carried out without checking any supporting documents proving the delivery.

Raytheon, one of the biggest defense contractors in the US, which will provide Romania with Patriot air defense missile systems, opened an office in Romania last month. Defense minister Mihai Fifor said that Romania would spend 2% of its GDP on defense in the next ten years and the most important army endowment programs will be carried out with the US.

Minister: Romanian Army will acquire the first Patriot system by end-2017

editor@romania-insider.com