The Ministry of Defense of Romania has requested approval from the country’s parliament to purchase submarines.

The Romanian defense media Defense Romania reported on this.

The Ministry of Defense has requested preliminary approval to initiate procedures for the coordination of several funding programs in the interests of the Romanian Naval Forces.

The requests specified in the document include the purchase of minesweepers and submarines and the modernization of missile carriers that are already in service with the Navy. The type and number of submarines planned for purchase, as well as the estimated amount of purchases, are not specified.

Currently, Romania has no operational submarines. The last Romanian submarine Delfinul has not gone to sea since 1996.

Possible candidates

Last year, Romania signed a memorandum of intent with France to purchase two French Scorpene submarines. The estimated value of the acquisition is about 500 million euros.

Scorpene is a kind of diesel-electric attack submarine of the new generation, manufactured by the Naval Group from France in cooperation with the Spanish company Navantia.

Today, 14 submarines of this type are already in operation by various countries or are under construction. The Navy of Chile and the Navy of Malaysia will each have two ships. The Navy of Brazil has four lined up, and India will have the largest fleet – six units.

It should be noted that the length of these submarines varies from sixty to seventy meters. The width of the submarine is eight meters.
Due to the high degree of automation, the submarine crew consists of only 31 people: 6 officers and 25 foremen and sailors. There are also six additional places with folding beds – for cadets or paratroopers.

A watch of nine people is sufficient for the day-to-day management of a submarine. The available supplies provide the boat with autonomy for up to 70 days.

The armament includes six 533-mm torpedo tubes, the design of which complies with the STANAG 4405 standard. The weapons can be very diverse and are determined by a specific customer. Ammunition of torpedoes includes 18 units.