Romania to but first Patriot system this year

Romania’s Army will procure its first Patriot missile system by the end of the year, Defense Minister Mihai Fifor said on Wednesday.
“We are waiting for the approval letter of the United States so that we can move on to contracting and we can purchase the first program,” he said.
The PAC 3 Plus Missile System that Romania is considering acquiring has an estimated life of 30 years, according to sources of the defense ministry.
This July the US Department of State approved a possible sale of Patriot systems to Romania, worth US$ 3.9 billion.
The short and medium-range surface-to-air missile systems currently used by Romania are largely obsolete, as most of them were made in the former Soviet Union and technical operating resources are almost overused and their chances for upgrading are unsustainable, the Ministry of Defense says.