Romania Orders 4 Mobile Radars From Thales in $68 Million, 2030 Deal
Romania’s Ministry of National Defence (MApN) has signed a contract with a consortium of Thales România and Thales LAS France for four mobile radar systems intended to strengthen the Romanian Air Force’s airspace surveillance. The deal, announced on October 27, 2026, is worth roughly 326.5 million lei (about $64-68 million) excluding VAT.
Under the contract, Thales will deliver STAR NG, a scalable S-band primary surveillance radar built for approach control, paired with RSM NG/IFF, an identification system that combines NATO Mode 5 and EUROCONTROL Mode S interrogation with ADS-B detection. The package also includes four deployable Precision Approach Radars (PAR), designed to guide aircraft safely to landing in difficult weather.
Lionel de Castellane, Thales’s Vice President for Air Traffic and Coastal Radars, said the company was honored by the trust the Romanian government placed in it. Deliveries will be phased across four Romanian Air Force locations, with the full set of systems expected to be operational by 2030.
The agreement is separate from a roughly €250 million deal signed in July 2026, under which Romania ordered 12 GM200 MM/A long-range air-defense radars from Thales through the European SAFE financing program — a deal that also included a commitment from Thales to establish a Radar Competence Centre in Romania. This October contract instead targets approach and landing radar capacity rather than long-range air defense detection.
Romania sits on NATO’s eastern Black Sea flank and has steadily expanded its airspace surveillance since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine began. Bucharest has repeatedly reported drone wreckage and stray Russian-launched drones entering Romanian airspace, a pattern that has pushed radar coverage and early-warning investment up the defense ministry’s priority list.
The mobile, deployable design of the four new radars gives the Romanian Air Force a flexible surveillance layer that complements its fixed radar stations — systems that can be moved quickly during a crisis or base realignment rather than remaining tied to a single site. Paired operation of STAR NG and RSM NG/IFF is also meant to let controllers distinguish civilian from military air traffic on the same display.
MApN has not disclosed a detailed payment schedule; officials have described the contract as multiannual, with disbursements tied to the phased delivery timeline through 2030.
Romania’s growing radar and surveillance footprint has drawn interest from Turkish defense firms as well — ASFAT has previously pitched a second HISAR-class corvette to Bucharest as part of what analysts describe as Romania’s diversified procurement approach across multiple allied suppliers. This particular radar contract, however, was negotiated directly between MApN and Thales and has no Turkish-industry component.
Sources:
- Economica.net, “Thales va furniza României 4 sisteme radar mobile pentru supravegherea spațiului aerian, contract de peste 320 mil. lei,” October 27, 2026, economica.net — used for contract value and date confirmation.
- EDR Magazine, “Thales to strengthen Romanian Air Force resilience with deployable radar and landing systems,” 2026, edrmagazine.eu — used for system names, delivery timeline and the official quote.
- Wall-Street.ro, “MApN cumpără patru radare mobile pentru Forțele Aeriene. Ce pot face noile sisteme,” 2026, wall-street.ro — used for system capabilities and intended use.
- Spotmedia.ro, “Armata română cumpără patru radare mobile cu peste 326 de milioane de lei,” 2026, spotmedia.ro — used for additional corroboration.
