The Minister of Economy, Radu Miruță, stated, on Sunday evening, that Romania's national defense industry operated for decades without serious investments, although the money existed year after year in the accounts.
Radu Miruta PHOTO Facebook
“I'll tell you what I'm doing. I'm working on two levels. One: You've got to clean up this swamp a little bit so you can build something. You've got to get the water out of it. It's a national defense industry swamp. It needs to be cleaned up.”said Radu Miruță on Antena 3.
The Minister of Economy also referred to the Romarm file, emphasizing that, regardless of its legal course, the company's activity cannot remain blocked for years while waiting for a solution from the judiciary.
“The Romarm file does not help me much, because the DNA file will find its end in a few years, and I am convinced that it will prove me right. But the company has to do something in these years”he said.
He also conveyed that after decades of stagnation, the defense industry is beginning to move timidly but visibly.
“The big advantage is that what until now has been completely numb in the defense industry – we haven't had serious investment for about 30 years – is now starting to unwind”said Radu Miruta.
He argues that modernization does not only mean money, but also real transfer of know-how, by bringing licenses, technologies and people with experience in performing industries.
“Some companies will be dismantled by bringing in new licenses, modernized production lines, from those who make technology. And a very simple thing happens: you bring a smart, modern man to work with one who has a hammer and a screwdriver in his hand. In two or three months, one learns from the other and that piece is dismantled a little bit” Radu Miruta also said.
He also recounted how defense industry companies had huge sums in their accounts but could not use them.
“We changed the law just last week. The national defense industry, to the surprise of many, had tens of millions of euros in accounts, cash money, which it did not have the ability to use. Simply. Over the years, the state, every year, has given money to this industry for investments! It's incredible! I was expecting someone to come to me and say: give us money, that we can't make investments. And when I started looking at the data, I said: guys, take a tour of the ministry and come back in two hours. You can't use them. Because you don't have management skills!”said Radu Miruta.
The minister gave the example of Avioane Craiova, a strategic company caught in a deeply unbalanced contract with huge financial consequences.
“At Avioane Craiova, I'm telling you in Oltenish: a fool met a smart man. The fool was the state. Avioane Craiova was caught in the middle in a very damaging contract for it, for which someone has to pay. Avioane Craiova made a contract with the Romanian Army. The contract with the Romanian Army says: if you are not able to deliver what you undertake to do, you have to pay penalties. We are talking about penalties of approximately 30 million euros”explained Radu Miruță.
The major problem is that Avioane Craiova's obligations depended on a private company, which had minimal penalties in case of non-fulfillment of the contract, he claims: “What Avioane Craiova was obliged to deliver also depended on a private company. The private company, if it did not deliver what it had to deliver to Avioane Craiova, had penalties of about 10,000 euros. And what do you think? That company did not deliver. And then we apply the penalties of 10,000 euros, while Avioane Craiova pays 30 million.”
Beyond the financial losses, however, the stake is a strategic one for Romania and for the entire region, considering the war on the borders, says the Minister of Economy. Demand for F-16 pilot training is huge, and existing capabilities are limited and extremely expensive.
“Beyond these sums, there is a strategic importance for the Romanian state. The whole region has a very big interest, a very big hunger, to train F-16 pilots. All the countries in the region need it”said Radu Miruta.
Modernized planes at Craiova could cover most of the training, significantly reducing costs.
“The places to train F-16 pilots are few and very expensive. These modernized planes at Avioane Craiova can replace a good part of the school that takes place on the F-16. It is much cheaper and you can train more pilots. You do 60-70% of your training on these planes, after which you move to the F-16”stated the Minister of Economy.
Currently, there are only two technical conditions to be met for the delivery of the aircraft, one related to the software and the other to the equipment.
“At the moment, there are still two ticks that need to be met before these planes can be delivered. One is software. A new software version has been made. I spoke to the director of Avioane Craiova tonight and he told me that he needs three days, half an hour of flight time, for the pilots to do the tests. The second problem is with an electronic ammunition launcher. It seems that it was a request that cannot be fulfilled and then there is a commission trying to remove this obligation from the contract”the minister also said.
The major problem, however, is exceeding the contractual term, which automatically triggers the obligation to return the advance paid by the Ministry of Defense.
“The bad part is another: that the period by which Avioane Craiova had the obligation to deliver the product has expired. And those from the Ministry of Defense, obliged by law, will demand the return of the advance. The advance was in two stages: a stage of 20 million euros, in February, and a second, larger stage”explained Radu Miruță.
