Otokar signs contract for supply of 1059 COBRA II armored vehicles for Romania

28 November, 2024 Turkish armored vehicle Cobra II manufactured by Otokar. Photo by the manufacturer. Turkish armored vehicle manufacturer Otokar has signed a contract to supply 1,059 COBRA II 4x4 armored vehicles to the Romanian Armed Forces.

The company announced this in a press release. The agreement was reportedly signed with the state-owned company ROMTEHNICA, which represents the Romanian Defense Ministry. The contract is estimated to be worth approximately EUR 857 million.

Under the contract, the first 278 armored vehicles will be manufactured in Turkey.

Turkish Cobra II armored vehicle by Otokar company. Photo credits: manufacturer

Further, the Romanian defense industry plans to localize and continue the production of armored vehicles. According to the plans, deliveries of COBRA II armored vehicles are to begin in the last quarter of 2025 and will be executed in batches over five years.

The tender also includes logistics support services. In early October, Militarnyi reported that Turkish company Otokar won a large-scale Romanian tender to purchase light armored vehicles.

COBRA II

The Cobra II is an 18-ton armored vehicle that can be configured as an armored personnel carrier, self-propelled ATGM, combat reconnaissance vehicle, or medical evacuation vehicle. The vehicle has a standard design: engine in the front, crew in the middle, and a landing compartment in the back.

In various configurations, it can carry up to 11 people and can be made with 3 or 5 doors at the customer's request.

A convoy of Otokar Cobra II armored combat vehicles of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, 2023.

The armored vehicle has all-round protection against debris and small arms of 7.62 mm caliber, as well as mine protection in the form of a V-shaped steel hull bottom that can withstand the detonation of an anti-tank mine or improvised explosive devices.

It is worth noting that a certain number of these armored vehicles entered service with the Ukrainian Defense Forces in May 2023.