Turkish company Otokar has won a tender for the supply of 1,059 Cobra II 4×4 Tactical Wheeled Light Armored Vehicles and some integrated logistics support services to Romania under a RON 4.26 billion contract (EUR 850 million without VAT), it announced the company, according to Savunmasanayist.com.

Otokar was the only one to submit a commercial bid before the March 20 deadline.

French company Arquus and Turkish group Nurol Makina gave up their participation in the competition and did not accept the contractual terms imposed by the Romanian side, according to sources familiar with the deal. Although rumored to be the favorite, Oshkosh Defense (USA) did not receive US Congressional approval for the technology transfer.

Otokar won the tender from the Romanian state-owned company Romtehnica, an entity controlled by the Ministry of National Defense. After the completion of the technical evaluation, field testing and commercial evaluation processes, the official invitation letter for contract negotiations was sent by the procurement authority to Otokar, the Turkish daily announced.

The first 278 vehicles will be produced at Otokar plants in Turkey, and the remaining will be produced in Romania under a structure to be determined in the future.

Romania is also interested in buying tanks from South Korea, the Minister of Defense announced at the end of April, according to Euronews Romania. It’s about the Black Panther tanks, which are considered among the best in the world.

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(Photo source: Defense.otokar.com.tr)