Romanian TR-85 tanks maneuver in a single column during a bilateral U.S.-Romanian live-fire exercise in 2018 at Smardan Training Area, Romania. Romania is looking to buy hundreds of Abrams tanks from the U.S., the defense ministry said in a Sept. 30, 2025 statement. (Matthew Keeler/U.S. Army)
NATO ally Romania is looking to buy hundreds of M1A2 Abrams tanks from the United States, as Russia’s war in Ukraine continues to reshape defense priorities along the alliance’s eastern flank.
Romania’s Defense Ministry has asked the country’s parliament to approve the next stages of its main battle tank program, a plan worth more than $7 billion aimed at replacing the country’s Soviet-era armor and meeting NATO’s defense commitments, the ministry said in a statement Tuesday.
The first stage would provide support for the Abrams battalion Romania ordered from the U.S., in 2023, adding ammunition, spare parts, training and simulators in a package worth about $485 million before taxes.
The bigger move is a proposal to buy 216 additional Abrams tanks and 76 support vehicles. This part of the program is estimated at roughly $7.6 billion before taxes, and includes maintenance, logistics and training facilities in Romania, the ministry said.
It wasn’t immediately clear when parliament might respond to the request or when — assuming the U.S. approves the purchase — the equipment would be delivered to the country.
The request comes amid broad military modernization efforts by Romania, whose Army 2040 plan aims to transform the force with modern equipment, digital command systems and stronger integration into NATO operations by the end of the next decade.
These efforts have resulted in Romania meeting NATO’s previous benchmark of spending 2% of its gross domestic product on defense for nine consecutive years, as of this year. During his first term as president, Donald Trump, who often criticized NATO members for underspending on defense, praised Romania for meeting the target.
Romania, which shares a 400-mile border with Ukraine and has been among the more vocal critics of Russia’s war in the country, has seen repeated drone incursions into its air space.
Romania’s initial Abrams contract signed in 2023 covered the purchase of 54 tanks and 12 support vehicles from U.S. Army stocks. The deal was valued at more than $1 billion and is scheduled to be completed by 2028.