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Romania has reopened discussions regarding the purchase of German IRIS-T SLM air defense systems, despite signing a framework agreement in July 2025 for 18 SPYDER systems from Israeli company Rafael. Recent talks between Romanian and German defense ministers highlighted the importance of IRIS-T as Romania seeks to enhance defense capabilities with funding from the EU SAFE program.

Germany's defense ministry announced a joint declaration to strengthen European air defense through the Sky Shield initiative. Romania is set to receive over 16 billion euros from the SAFE program. The initial SPYDER agreement, worth approximately 2.038 billion euros, includes contracts for various short-range air defense configurations, although there are indications that no firm contracts have yet been signed with Rafael. Romania aims to acquire 41 air defense systems by 2030, with an estimated budget of 4.2 billion euros.