Moldova Weighs Mobility and Firepower in Military Overhaul

Russia has indicated it hopes to clear a path through southern Ukraine to Transnistria, injecting new urgency to a long-term plan to overhaul and beef up Moldova's armed forces.

"The army must be capable of effectively retaliating against a potential attack from hostile forces coming from Transnistria or Russian troops," said military analyst and former defence minister Vitalie Marinuta.

Fast and flexible

In 2020, the Military Capabilities Plan of the Moldovan National Army set down the steps Moldova would take over the following decade to modernise its defence capabilities, transitioning from Soviet-style combat systems to Western systems.

Defence Minister Antolie Nosatii wants a "mobile, modular, flexible and functional army," ministry state secretary Valeriu Mija told BIRN.

Moldova currently spends about 0.4 per cent of its annual GDP, or just over 40 million euros, on defence, a meagre sum compared to its regional peers. The money is used up mainly by salary payments and ongoing military activities.

According to the government, the army should be able to defend the state, provide assistance in civil emergencies and participate in international peacekeeping missions.

Moldovan troops in a military exercise held on June 21, 2022, in Moldova. Photo: Moldovan Defence Ministry Facebook page

Mija said that the plan was to replace heavy, outdated military equipment with lighter, more mobile alternatives without losing firepower. Moldova will receive 40 million euros from the European Union to help out.

"For example, we want to change the current TABs [Romanian-produced armoured personnel carriers], which are heavy and fuel-consuming," Mija told BIRN. "We have armoured infantry...