September 1 (SeeNews) - Romania's defence ministry said on Thursday it is seeking parliament approval to buy three unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) systems from Turkish defence contractor Baykar as well as the necessary logistics support for a total of $300 million (300.6 million euro).
Each Bayraktar TB2 system comprises six drones, the defence ministry said in a press release.
The Bayraktar TB2 is a medium-altitude long-endurance (MALE) unmanned combat aerial vehicle (UCAV) capable of remotely controlled or autonomous flight operations.
Romania will also purchase an initial logistical support package as well as the necessary training services and training equipment. The acquisition is part of a military endowment programme which aims to fully modernise Romania's military by 2040, the ministry said.
Earlier this month, Romanian state-owned company Romtehnica said it plans to buy man-portable air-defence systems (MANPADS) and electronic warfare equipment worth an estimated 4.28 billion lei (877.6 million/ 876.8 million euro) in total.
Romania, which joined NATO in 2004, has said it plans to spend a total of 9.8 billion euro until 2026 to boost its defence capabilities.
In March, Romanian president Klaus Iohannis announced that Romania needs to increase defence spending to 2.5% of gross domestic product from 2%, following the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Founded in 1986, Baykar is a private Turkish defence company which employs 2,500, according to its website.
(1 euro=4.8525 Romanian lei)