Romania could produce drones and electronic warfare equipment within five years at most

Romania could develop production capabilities for drones and electronic warfare equipment within no more than five years, by repurposing existing industrial platforms and through international partnerships, Vasile Iuga, an independent non-executive member of ALRO’s Board of Directors, said on Monday.

Iuga argues that reindustrialization should not reproduce the heavy industry model, but should rely on modern technologies, investment in research, and cooperation with manufacturers from South Korea, the United States, and Ukraine. He pointed out that struggling private factories, old industrial platforms, or facilities in the automotive sector could be partially converted for the production of military equipment.

The Alro representative believes that the defense industry can become a driver of economic growth if funding also reaches Romanian companies in production chains. He called for changes to banking policies so that defense projects, including those involving drones, can be financed.

Romania is negotiating with Ukraine on drone production through the European SAFE mechanism, financed with loans of up to 150 billion euros. Romania could contract 16.7 billion euros, and the projects must include companies from the European Union, the European Economic Area, or Ukraine.

At the same time, a government source cited by Reuters estimates that a Romanian multilayered air defense system could become operational only in at least seven years. Energy costs and the lack of funding, however, remain major obstacles for the European defense industry.