Western firms gradually break into Romania's defense market.

Less than a year after Romania became a NATO invitee, its defense market has become ripe ground for Western and Israeli companies, vying for contracts primarily in the areas of command-and-control, surveillance and communications.

One of the top priorities for the Romanian Ministry of Defense is the Air Sovereignty Operation Center, of ASOC, said Air Force Gen. Ion-Eftimie Sandu, the deputy chief of the armaments & department. ASOC is responsible for coordinating and controlling the air traffic. It collects and processes data from military and civil radars.

The concept of ASOC came about in 1996 as part of a Central and Eastern European air space management program intiated by the U.S. air Force Electronic Systems Center. This program allows participants to share information on air space management.

The main developers for the Romanian ASOC are Lockheed Martin and SC Romsys S.A., of Romania. Lockheed Martin first developed the ASOC system for the U.S. Air Force.

Lockheed Martin was awarded, earlier this year, a $7.2 million contract to provide continued support for the ASOC International Modernization and Sustainment Support program for the next three years. Lockheed won the initial contract from the U.S. government in 1997 to devdop and install ASOC management systems for the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Romania and Bulgaria.

The ASOC system produces real-time air pictures integrating military and civilian air space, said Dean DiSanto, Lockheed Martin's ASOC program manager. It is compatible with western European and NATO standard.

Part of the ASOC system in Romania started functioning in February 1999. It was connected to five FPS 117 radar systems and three civilian radar systems, said Sandu. A module for airborne police was delivered in 2001.

The final version of ASOC will be able to connect the different components through the STAR, the Romanian acronym for the Romanian Armed Forces Communications System. It will be fielded in gradual stages through 2008, according to Sandu.

The program was conceived by the Ministry of Defense, and it is being developed by the Italian company Marconi. On board also are other Romanian companies, such as Electromechanical Plant Ploiesti, SC Marctel Sit Com S.R.L. and SC Amtel.

Simultaneously, radio communications stations are being modernized with interchangeable HF/VHF frequencies. U.S. radio supplier Harris RF Communications has been working on small units and units for strategic radio links. Forty Harris radios have already been mounted on armored vehicles, according to the Ministry of Defense. Thales' Racal tactical network also has been acquired. Both systems ate integrated domestically at SC Elprof S.A. and S.C. Iemi S.A.

In addition, the Romanian MOD is developing a radar system for air space medium and low altitude surveillance, called Gapfiller. The program started in 2002. Contractors include Lockheed Martin, UTI Systems and CN Romarm SA. Gapfiller will be compatible with ASOC and will provide air-traffic data.

Helicopter Upgrades

The IAR-330 Puma helicopter will receive new sensors, for anti-tank missions, search and rescue and flying at a lower altitude, day or night, in all weather conditions. Among the contractors are Elbit Systems, Ltd; Rafael, IMI and Elsira from Israel; Honeywell, U.S.; BAE Systems, U.K. and GIAT, France.

Romania also is working on an upgrade for its MiG-21 fighter aircraft. So far, 105 have been delivered to the Air Force, which also flies the more advanced MiG-29. The jets will have modernized avionics, navigation and weapons systems, to give them a comparable capability to the F-16 C, D Block 50, said Sandu.

He said that the MOD is not planning to acquire any new fighter jets for a while. "MiG-21 will be good until 2010," he said in an interview. "Maybe after 2007, we will decide on a new fighter jet."

The MiG-21 Lancer will be outfitted with the Magic-2 missile built by the European MBDA consortium. Magic-2 is a short and medium range IR self-guided air-to-air missile used for interception or air close combat. Elbit Systems and MBDA provided economical and technical proposals, said Sandu.

Romania operates its own airlift fleet of C-130 Hercules and is planning to by more before 2007, said Sandu. Romania now owns four, out of which three are operational. The fourth is undergoing repairs. "We have the capability to maintain and upgrade C-130s within our own industry," he said.

No unmanned aerial systems have been developed domestically, but Romania has purchased two Shadow 600 systems from U.S. supplier AAI Corporation. Sandu said that, so far, these two are enough for the needs the Romanian Army.

"After 1990, we have tried to build our own UAVs, but the costs ate very high and the Romanian industry has to redevelop and refurbish [for this purpose.]," Sandu said.

Land Forces

Ground forces will soon receive a new 35-mm air defense gun, said Sandu. Oerlikon Contraves, a Swiss company, and Romania's ACTTM and C.N. Romarm SA are supplying this system. Another contractor in the project is Kraus Maffei Wegmann, the producer of the famed German Leopard tank.

Romania plans to upgrade its TR-85 tanks. The work will be done by a Romanian industrial team, along with the European consortium EADS, SAGEM, RKS and Thales, among others.

The Romanian armored fighting vehicle also is going to have increased protection, stronger fire-power with a 25-mm stabilized cannon. SC MFA SA MIZIL is the integrator for this program with help from Rafael, Thales, Caterpillar Perkins (U.K.), Oerlikon Contraves L'Hottelier and SFIM/ODS, both from France.

Naval Systems

Romania is modernizing its "Marasesti" frigate with an integrated communications system and sensors that can interoperate with NATO ships.

By purchasing two type-22 frigates--London and Coventry--from the United Kingdom, Romania ensured interoperability with NATO, said Sandu. The U.K. MOD naval support agency together with BAJE Systems (the developer) will integrate the war ships with the rest of the Romanian fleet.

An identification friend-or-foe system will be developed by Thales for air, land and sea, according to Sandu. Thales competes on the international market with Raytheon and Lockheed Martin for the development of IFF systems for NATO members. The system developed for Romania is based on long, medium and short distance interrogators and transponders, according to Sandu. "The IFF is mandatory," he said.

Sandu declined to disclose any financial details on the contracts Romania has awarded for its modernization and acquisition programs. He said the deals were signed "at a very advantageous price" for Romania. "The same contract may not be obtainable for another country under the same conditions."

These contracts come with offsets worth 80 percent of the entire deal, he explained. The offsets are in the form of orders for the Romanian industry.

Romania's defense budget equates to 2.38 percent of the country's GDP. Sandu said that all investments will focus on NATO interoperable equipment.

Resource Management School

The Romanian government is seeking to reform the management of defense projects. Training for defense professionals takes place at the Regional Center of Defense Resource Management in Brasov.

The center was created in collaboration with the Defense Resources Management Institute in Monterey, Calif. in 1999, when then Secretary of Defense William Cohen and Iris Romanian counterpart, Victor Babiuc, pushed for such an establishment.

"We could not copy everything from the United States," said Iulian Bujoreanu, a senior instructor at the center. "We do not have the same strategic interests." Many of" the instructors, as well as the leadership of the center, have been trained at Monterey. The center also trains program managers from other countries in the region, such as Albania and Bulgaria.

The students are introduced to and taught how to work with the Planning, Programming, Budgeting and Evaluation System (PPBES), also used by the U.S. Department of Defense. "We ate trying to make them understand that they can be both managers and war fighters, of leaders," said Bujoreanu. "You can't be a manager without being a leader."

The crux of the courses is how to more efficiently allocate funds and be able to clearly support funding and program decisions.

"They have to be capable of explaning to Parliament why we need certain programs," he said. "The budget is no longer a black hole where the money just simply gets lost," he said. The center aims to enforce accountability for every defense dollar.

"We have to be convincing when we say that we need a certain amount of money when we promote our objectives," said Bujoreanu.

The center has received a strong infusion of cash, which turned it into one of the most modern and high-tech establishments in the Ministry of Defense. It received $1.2 million from U.S. sponsors for information technology equipment and another $2.5 million to build a hotel where course participants stay.

A resource management course lasts for about six weeks for program managers and up to 11 weeks for specialists, said Bujoreanu. The classes are small and participants go through a tough selection process. All courses are held in English. The center's budget comes directly from the Ministry of Defense.

Defense priorities for the future include airlift, mountain combat (see article page 46), military police and nuclear, biological and chemical defense. Romanian troops currently are participating in missions in Kosovo and Afghanistan.

Romania sent an NBC detachment of 70 people to Kuwait in support of operation Iraqi Freedom. Many of the NBC troops are trained at the NBC Defense Application School in Campulung Muscel, in existence for at least three decades.

Altogether, 52 soldiers can train at the same time on the school's range. Soldiers use only simulated agents are used, said the deputy commander, Col. Ion Brevoianu. They can simulate agents such as sarin, mustard gas and botulinum. "For radioactive contamination we use a simulated source with small activity," he told National Defense.

Ninety-five percent of the equipment that they use is of Romanian make, and much of it was produced back in the '70s and '80s. It encompasses everything from probes to chemical detection equipment, protective suits and masks, to armored NBC vehicles.

Research and development for new equipment is non-existent today, due to lack of funds. Many high-level scientists have left the country.

"We would like a lot less of the equipment to be Romanian, so that we have the best type of equipment from everywhere," said Col. Marian Popa.

The masks, while they do their job, have not been outfitted for comfort. The protective suits are made out of rubber and ate meant to be effective for about four hours.

"You are not expected to spend that much time in a contaminated area anyway," said Popa. The suits do not have any cooling systems, but Romania has bought a few more advanced suits to equip the troops leaving for the desert.

He said that even though the equipment that the Romanians use is different and older than other equipment available to troops in the West or the U.S. they achieve the same results, said Brevoianu. "We use a different kind of equipment, but it is about reaching the same result."

In NBC training, soldiers learn everything from detection, decontamination to cleaning up industrial spills. Each soldier has a communications station through which they can send their results to the commander's station. The commander, in turn, can tell whether their outcome was correct or not. They ate supposed to repeat their task until they get it right.

Soldiers also learn how to decontaminate heavy trucks and vehicles. Each company has its own NBC surveillance and reconnaissance vehicle. The vehicle can detect toxic agents, has a working station complete with agent probes, and a suite of communications systems and radios, said Brevoianu.

RELATED ARTICLE: U.S. Marine Corps helps romania reform top-heavy army.

The Romanian military sought assistance from the U.S. Marine Corps to help set up a training school, in an effort to mass-produce non-commissioned officers. The plan is to train senior enlisted personnel to take over much of the decision making duties and command functions.

By the end of this year, Romania will have 40,200 NCOs and warrant officers, a number that will outweigh three times the officer corps of 18,000. The total number of Romania's armed forces will be 112,000 by the end of 2005, according to government documents.

"The first problem was that we had to understand how to create the fighting NCO," that also is a leader, Col. Mihai Chitita told National Defense. Chirita runs the NCO school.

The school came to life in 1999 with the help of the U.S. Marine Corps, which provided training assistance.

The school trains the NCQ in tactics, but also encourages them to choose a specialist track that they can use in the force or later in their civilian life.

Up to 600 students graduate from this school each year. It costs about $2,000 to put an NCQ through training for one year, said Chirita.

Gunner Marius Postaliu took the drill instructor course at the U.S. Marine base in Quantico, Va.

"They teach you how to plan your time, how to do everything in five minutes. They taught us small details that we were not aware we could do in such little time," he said. "We learned new tactics, new physical training and dose combat, which we will teach here as well."

They also have practiced survival in the water wearing all their equipment, something they had never done before, he said. "They just throw you in, and then they ask you if you can swim. You say, 'No,' and then they tell you to make it to the other side," Postaliu said.

The NCO school is planning to incorporate martial arts training, similar to the Marine Corps' courses. "These methods teach you how to handle certain weapons," he said. "We can't do all, because it all costs money."

Martial arts methods involve a certain amount of physical pain and abuse that may be hard to use on the Romanian soldiers, said Chirita. "The soldiers may think that we are trying to harm them physically instead of just training them."

Gunnery Sgt. Constantin Radu said that they had to change basic practices, once they started training with the Marine Corps.

"We used to communicate among each other verbally," he said. "The MC has taught us hand signals and signal systems based on their handbooks." On a larger scale he said, the Marine Corps, "made us see that being a NCO does not mean being in a company, taking care of equipment."

Competition for training at this school is fierce. There are about 10 people for one spot. The candidates are both military and civilian. About 100 women also are currently training at the center, and the first female instructor has just graduated, said Chirita.

The U.S. company Cubic Defense has a contract with the Romanian Army to advise the center.--Roxana Tiron