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Romanian Armed Forces; Forţele Armate Române
	; The coat of arms and the flag
Founded	1860
Current form	11 April 2000
Service branches	Land Forces; Naval Forces; Air Forces
Headquarters	Bucharest
Leadership
Supreme Commander of the Army	Traian Băsescu
Minister of National Defense	Mihai Stănişoară
Chief of the General Staff	Admiral Gheorghe Marin
Manpower
Military age	18 years of age
Conscription	No
Available for; military service	5,061,984 males, age 15–49 (2005 est.),; 4,975,427 females, age 15–49 (2005 est.)
Fit for; military service	3,932,579 males, age 15–49 (2005 est.),; 4,076,288 females, age 15–49 (2005 est.)
Reaching military; age annually	172,093 males (2005 est.),; 165,547 females (2005 est.)
Active personnel	90,000 (ranked 47th)
Expenditures
Budget	€2.21 billion.
Percent of GDP	2.05%.
Related articles
Ranks	Romanian Armed Forces ranks and insignia

The Land Forces, Air Force and Naval Forces of Romania are collectively known as the Romanian Armed Forces (Romanian: Forţele Armate Române or Armata Română) . The current Commander-in-chief is Admiral Gheorghe Marin, managed by the Minister of National Defense, while the president is the Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces during wartime.

Total defence spending currently accounts for 2.05% of total national GDP, which represents approximately 2.9 billion dollars (ranked 47th). However, the Romanian Armed Forces will spend about 11 billion dollars in the next five years on modernization and acquirement of new equipment.^[3]

90,000 men and women currently comprise the Armed Forces, 75,000 of them being military personnel and the other 15,000 civilians. The Land Forces have a reported strength of 45,800, the Air Force 13,250 and the Naval Forces 6,800, while the remaining 8,800 serve in other fields.^[4]

The Land Forces have overhauled their equipment in recent years, and are today a modern army with multiple NATO capabilities. They are participating in a peacekeeping mission in Afghanistan, together with the other NATO countries. The Air Force currently operates modernized Soviet MiG-21 LanceR fighters, which are due to be replaced by the Eurofighter Typhoon, Saab 39 Gripen or F-16 Fighting Falcon by 2010-2012. The Air Force has also ordered 7 new C-27J Spartan tactical airlift aircraft, in order to replace the bulk of the old transport force.^[5] Two modernized ex-Royal Navy Type 22 frigates were acquired by the Naval Forces in 2004 and a further four modern missile corvettes will be commissioned in the next few years. Three domestically-produced IAR 330 Puma NAVAL helicopters were also ordered by the Naval Forces, and were commissioned in late 2008.

[edit] Manpower

Main article: Romania and NATO

Romanian soldiers on patrol in Afghanistan

Romania joined NATO in 2004. As a consequence, extensive preparations have been made for the abolishment of conscription and the transition to a professional army by 2007. The new armed forces include 90,000 men and women. About 75,000 of these are the military personnel, while 15,000 is made up of civilians. 60,000 of the 90,000 will be the active forces, while 30,000 comprise the territorial forces ^[6]. Out of the 75,000 troops which comprise the actual military, ca. 45,800 make up the Romanian Land Forces, 13,250 are the Romanian Air Force and 6,800 are in the Romanian Naval Forces, while the remaining 8,800 serve in other fields ^[7].

[edit] Modernization

Romanian soldiers during training

The Romanian Military will essentially undergo a three-stage restructuring. As of 2007, the first short-term stage has been completed. 2015 marks the end of the second stage when the armed forces will reach a superior compatibility with NATO forces.^[8]. In 2025, the long-term stage is to be completed. The stages aim at modernizing the structure of the armed forces, reducing the personnel as well as acquiring newer and more improved technology that is compatible with NATO standards^[8].

[edit] Current deployments

Romanian soldiers in Southern Afghanistan during a joint operation with American forces

Romania has troops deployed in Afghanistan. At its peak, the Romanian contingent in Iraq numbered 730 soldiers. Romania reduced that number to 350 soldiers. Romania terminated its mission in Iraq and withdrew its last troops on July 24, 2009. Romania currently has 900 soldiers in Afghanistan.

[edit] Other militarized institutions

The following Romanian institutions have military status but are not part of the Armed Forces:

Romanian Gendarmerie (Jandarmeria Română), subordinated to the Ministry of Administration and Interior;
Inspectoratul General al Corpului Pompierilor Militari (Military Firefighters) and Comandamentul Protecţiei Civile (Civil Defense), merged into the Romanian Inspectorate for Emergency Situations within the Ministry of the Interior;
Serviciul Român de Informaţii (Romanian Intelligence Service);
Serviciul de Protecţie şi Pază (Protection and Guard Service, provides protection to Romanian and foreign officials);
Serviciul de Telecomunicaţii Speciale (Special Telecommunications Service);
Serviciul de Informaţii Externe (Foreign Intelligence Service).

[edit] See also

[edit] Notes

^ CIA World Factbook, Military of Romania
^ ^a ^b (Romanian) MoND Budget as of 2007, Ziarul Financiar, October 30, 2006
^ (Romanian)MoND Budget as of 2007, Ziarul Financiar, October 30, 2006
^ (Romanian) Ministry of National Defense. Press conference
^ "Spartan Order", Aviation Week & Space Technology, December 11, 2006.
^ Ministry of National Defence, Press conference
^ Adevărul, România, cel mai important dintre viitorii membri ai NATO ("Romania, the most important among the future NATO members"), November 20, 2002
^ ^a ^b Ministry of National Defence, Strategia de transformare a Armatei României ("Strategy for the transformation of the Romanian Army")

[edit] External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Military of Romania

(English) Official site of the Romanian Ministry of Defense (MoD)
(Romanian) Official site of the Romanian Army General Staff
New U.S. Base in Romania To Be Larger Than Previously Estimated, ThePeacockReport.com, Oct. 11, 2006.

[0] CIA World Factbook, Military of Romania

[MoND_Budget_as_of_2007-1] (Romanian) MoND Budget as of 2007, Ziarul Financiar, October 30, 2006

[ZF-2] (Romanian)MoND Budget as of 2007, Ziarul Financiar, October 30, 2006

[3] (Romanian) Ministry of National Defense. Press conference

[awst_20061211-4] "Spartan Order", Aviation Week & Space Technology, December 11, 2006.

[5] Ministry of National Defence, Press conference

[6] Adevărul, România, cel mai important dintre viitorii membri ai NATO ("Romania, the most important among the future NATO members"), November 20, 2002

[mapn.ro-7] Ministry of National Defence, Strategia de transformare a Armatei României ("Strategy for the transformation of the Romanian Army")

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