VIDEO | The Republic of Moldova will buy military vehicles together with Romania, through the SAFE program. Nosatîi announces a new agreement and admits that the National Army does not have enough systems to shoot down Russian drones

The Republic of Moldova and Romania are preparing a military cooperation agreement that will allow for the joint purchase of military vehicles through the European SAFE program. The announcement was made by Defense Minister Anatolie Nosatîi, who is scheduled to visit Bucharest on November 2. The official said that the National Army intends to replace some of the trucks inherited from the Soviet era. At the same time, the minister acknowledged that although the Republic of Moldova has improved its capabilities to detect air threats, it does not yet have sufficient systems to shoot down Russian drones.

During the show "The Shadow Cabinet" on Jurnal TV, Nosatîi was asked about the possibility of cooperation between the Republic of Moldova, Romania and Ukraine for the development and acquisition of anti-drone systems. The Minister of Defense stated that the threats generated by the war launched by the Russian Federation affect all three states, and the Republic of Moldova must take advantage of the cooperation with its partners to obtain the technologies necessary to protect the population.

"The dangers and threats coming from the Russian Federation against Ukraine, which is at war, as well as Romania and Moldova, which are countries in the immediate vicinity, are the same and endanger and threaten the lives of citizens. Accordingly, it is our responsibility to take all measures to have those systems that would protect our territory and people. And we are in touch with all the partners who are by our side," said Anatolie Nosatîi.

The official stressed that Romania remains one of the most important partners of the Republic of Moldova in the field of defense. At the same time, Chisinau seeks to expand cooperation with Ukraine, including to gain access to technologies developed and used in real war conditions.

"Romania is the closest to us, it was and remains the most reliable, not only when it is difficult, but they have always been and remain by our side. Just as we have cooperation with them, we want to have cooperation with Ukraine and, respectively, this is why we moved forward with this agreement. That in the absence of this agreement we do not have access to technologies. Everyone knows that there are many companies that produce drones or have technology from Ukraine and produce drones on their territory. It is not excluded that our neighbors also have them. And for us, for the Republic of Moldova, it is very important to have access to these systems and put them into operation to defend citizens," the minister explained.

In this context, Nosatîi announced that he will pay an official visit to Romania, where he is to meet with the new Romanian Minister of Defense, Ștefan-Radu Oprea. The two officials intend to sign an agreement that will allow the Republic of Moldova to participate in joint military procurement through the European SAFE mechanism. One of the priorities is the procurement of military trucks produced by the Italian company IDV (Iveco Defence Vehicles), which would replace the outdated vehicles in the National Army.

"Next Monday I will pay a visit to Romania. I will have a meeting with the new Minister of Defense. We will also sign an agreement on cooperation with Romania in the military field. […] We will sign an access agreement to the SAFE program, where we will go to joint purchases with the Romanian Army for military vehicles. These are trucks that we want to have in the National Army, to replace those old models that we inherited from the Soviet army and to give them to the National Army for use, to be used in the interest of training," Nosatîi announced.

The minister did not specify how many vehicles are to be purchased, the value of the purchase, or the deadline for their arrival in the Republic of Moldova. He noted that he would provide more details after the meeting with his Romanian counterpart.

In parallel with the modernization of the military vehicle fleet, the authorities in Chisinau are looking for solutions to purchase more efficient defense systems against drones. Nosatîi acknowledged that the National Army has made progress in identifying aerial threats, but their interception capacity remains insufficient.

"More precisely, I will come up with more details after a meeting with the new minister. For me, it is important to identify those systems necessary for us, so that we can defend ourselves against Russian drones. This is the basic mission, because, if we talk about the measures taken, it is obvious that we are better, but not very good at detecting threats in the airspace, and now we need to have systems to shoot them down," explained the Minister of Defense.

Asked why the National Army does not use the anti-drone machine guns previously presented by the Ministry of Defense, Nosatîi explained that the military is trained to use this equipment, but their effectiveness is limited by the short range and characteristics of modern drones.

According to the minister, the exclusive use of these installations to protect the border with Ukraine would require the deployment of a very large number of machine guns, without them being able to intercept all types of aircraft.

"We are prepared, we are trained to use them. Don't imagine that the machine gun has a rather small range. This means that every 2–3 kilometers we should put a few machine guns on 1.222 km, this is our border with Ukraine, and wait for the Russian drones to come and attack the homes of citizens. They are very limited in range and have a capacity to be effective against first-generation drones. They cannot cope with jet-powered drones," Nosatîi explained.

SAFE (Security Action for Europe) is a financial instrument of the European Union, with a budget of up to 150 billion euros in the form of loans to Member States for defense investments. The program encourages joint acquisitions of military equipment, and the Republic of Moldova, as a candidate country for EU accession and a partner in the field of security and defense, can participate in such projects together with Member States, under the conditions provided for by the mechanism.