February 8 (SeeNews) - Romania's defence ministry said that it is expecting to receive the last of four Patriot surface-to-air missile (SAM) system from U.S.-based defence contractor Raytheon by the end of April.
Full delivery and testing of the third and fourth Patriot systems which started last year are expected to be completed by the end of April, the defence ministry said in a press release on Tuesday.
The first two systems were fully delivered in 2022, the ministry added.
"The four systems are the first stage of our effort to create a state-of-the-art ground-based air defence structure, with combat-tested capabilities for defence against tactical ballistic missiles and cruise missiles, fully integrated into the NATO system," defence minister Angel Tilvar said.
In November 2018, Romania signed a deal with Raytheon to buy three additional Patriot systems, bringing the total number of agreed purchases to ten. A year earlier, the U.S. State Department cleared the sale of seven Patriot systems to Romania for an estimated $3.9 billion (3.6 billion euro).
Romania, which joined NATO in 2004, plans to spend 9.8 billion euro until 2026 to boost its defence capabilities.
($=0.9303 euro)