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Romania Arms Production
In 1989 the Soviet Union still provided the majority of
heavy
arms and complex equipment in Romania's inventory. In the
preceding
two decades, however, Romania had made considerable
progress toward
building an independent domestic arms industry. At the PCR
Central
Committee plenum in April 1968, Ceausescu officially made
development of a domestic arms industry a national
priority. He
recognized the inherent vulnerability in Romania's
reliance on the
Soviet Union, a potential adversary, as its principal arms
supplier. Ceausescu claimed that Romania in 1985 was
producing
more than two-thirds of the weapons and military equipment
essential for the country's defense.
At first Romania concentrated on developing its
capabilities in
low-technology areas, producing spare parts for,
repairing, and
modifying Soviet-made weapons and equipment for the ground
forces.
By the early 1980s, Romania had a large-scale program of
naval
construction and had reestablished its prewar aviation
industry. It
built minor surface combatants and fighter aircraft using
its own
designs and produced more complicated units under
licensing
arrangements with the Soviet Union and other countries.
Several
Western countries assisted Romanian arms production
efforts as a
reward for the country's adopting an independent stance
within the
Warsaw Pact. Besides contributing to its increased
independence of
the Soviet Union, domestic arms production also increased
Romania's
exports and became a source of hard currency.
Using Soviet designs provided under license, Romania
produced
a number of armored fighting vehicles for its ground
forces. The
TAB-72 was a modified version of the Soviet BTR-60 armored
personnel carrier, and the TAB-77 was the counterpart of
the Soviet
BTR-70. The TAB-72 had an improved Romanian-designed
turret,
upgraded optical equipment and gun sights, and increased
elevation
angles for its 14.5mm and 7.62mm machine guns for use in
an
antiaircraft mode. It featured a better power-to-weight
ratio than
the BTR-60 and a greater road speed. One TAB-72 variant
used a
Soviet 82mm mortar in place of its turret. The TAB-77 had
either a
Romanian-made turret or mounted six Soviet AT-3/SAGGER
antitank
guided missiles. The TAB-C was essentially a domestic
version of
the Soviet BRDM-2 armored reconnaissance vehicle first
built in the
early 1960s.
The M-77 tank, also known by the designation TR-77, was
the
first produced in Romania since World War II. It mounted
the turret
and 100mm gun from the Soviet T-54/T-55 tank but had a
Romaniandesigned six-roller track and suspension system for
improved
mobility over rugged terrain. Romania produced towed and
truckmounted Soviet and Czechoslovak B-11, M-51, and BM-21
multiple
rocket launchers, as well as DAC-443 light and DAC-665
medium
military cargo trucks using a chassis design purchased
from a firm
in the Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany). These
trucks
were used as ground forces transports, communications and
electronics vans, bridging equipment carriers, and mobile
multiple
rocket launcher platforms. Romania also manufactured all
small
arms, ammunition, munitions, mortars, grenade launchers,
communications equipment, and some spare parts for more
complex
weapons used by its ground forces.
Data as of July 1989
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