Romania to transfer Patriot PAC-3 air defense system to Ukraine

Romanian President Klaus Iohannis signed a decree on transferring the Patriot air defense system to Ukraine.

This statement is released on the official website of the Romanian president.

Iohannis signed a decree “On the promulgation of the Law on the Supplement of Article 1 of Law No. 222/2017 on the implementation of the ‘Ground-Based Air Defense Capability,’ concerning the program of basic equipment ‘Long Range Surface to Air Missile System (HSAM)’ (PL-x 423/02.09.2024)”.

Previously, Romania’s Ministry of National Defense submitted a bill to the country’s parliament on transferring the Patriot system to Ukraine.

The Chamber of Deputies passed a government-initiated bill on transferring the Patriot system to Ukraine with 245 votes in favor, 29 against, and one abstention.

The approved bill states that Romania will provide one of seven Patriot PAC-3 air defense systems.

The draft law does not provide an exact date for the system’s transfer to Ukraine and leaves it to the Romanian government’s discretion.

This transfer may be conditional on Romania continuing negotiations with Allies, including the United States, to obtain a similar or equivalent system to protect its national airspace.

The Romanian Armed Forces are operators of the latest PAC-2 GEM-T and Patriot PAC-3 MSE versions.

In 2017, Romania signed an agreement with the United States to purchase seven Patriot PAC-3+ air defense systems batteries within the Foreign Military Sales program.

It was reported that the deal, including the PAC-2 GEM-T and PAC-3 MSE anti-aircraft missiles, was estimated at about $4 billion.

Four of the seven batteries of the Patriot PAC-3+ are intended for the Romanian Air Force, and three for the Romanian Army.