(ANSA) - BELGRADE, 11 GIU - The Romanian company Uzina
Mecanica Plopeni (UMP), controlled by the state-owned arms
producer Romarm, has signed a memorandum of understanding with
Beretta Holding for the production in Romania of the ARX 160
assault weapon, the Romanian ministry of Economy announced in
statement on Monday.
"It is an important moment, a strategic project" that will
allow Romania to "produce at Popleni a modern weapon of last
generation," Romanian minister of Economy Niculae Badalau said.
UMP will start producing the Beretta assault weapons within
six months after establishing a joint venture company, the
specialized portal SeeNews wrote. Romania will control 80%
interest in the joint venture company through UMP, while the
remainder will be held by Beretta Holding, SeeNews added,
specifying that at the beginning 15% of the weapons' components
will be manufactured in Romania, but the percentage will
increase in the future.
According to SeeNews, Romarm is the main supplier of defence
equipment in the country, and Romania is planning to spend up to
9.8 billion euro until 2026 to modernize and boost its defence
capabilities. (ANSA).
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