Romania’s anti-aircraft systems, modernized by Rheinmetall for counter-drone combat, failed acceptance tests / Nicușor Dan says that “these things happen”

The first two systems, consisting of 12 guns intended for the Romanian Army, had not been delivered by the agreed deadline of April 15, 2026, after technical acceptance tests identified problems with some subsystems. The information appears in documents from the Ministry of National Defence, published by G4Media.

Asked about the situation in New York, President Nicușor Dan said that “these things happen” and that the problems can be corrected during the acceptance procedure. The head of state specified that the purchase is not part of the SAFE program, but of an earlier contract concluded by the Romanian state.

The framework contract for modernizing the systems was awarded in December 2023 by the National Company Romtehnica to Rheinmetall Landsysteme GmbH. The agreement has a total value of 328 million euros, and the program is being carried out by the Land Forces Staff.

The new estimated deadline for delivery of the first two systems is September 2026. For the delay, the contracting authority imposed penalties starting from the first day, which will continue to accrue until the acceptance report is signed without objections.