By Ahmet Gencturk
ATHENS (AA) - Otokar, a major Turkish defense company specializing in land systems, announced on Friday that it formed a joint venture in Romania to produce armored vehicles for the Romanian army.
The agreement was signed with Automecanica, a prominent Romanian defense firm, to locally manufacture the Otokar Cobra II 4X4 armored vehicles and carry out engineering, marketing, and after-sales activities, Otokar said in a statement.
The joint venture will produce 781 of 1,059 armored vehicles, which Otokar was contracted to produce for the Romanian army in November 2024 while 278 vehicles will be delivered directly from Türkiye, according to the statement.
In March 2024, Otokar submitted its bid for the tender for the purchase of 4x4 light armored tactical vehicles for the Romanian army.
Following successful completion of the technical evaluation, field tests and financial evaluation phases, Otokar was declared the winner of the tender and last November signed a Romanian lei 4.26 billion ($972 million) multiannual contract to supply 1,059 COBRA II 4x4 armored vehicles to Romania’s Defense Ministry.