Romania's controversial AAV‑7 procurement raises safety concerns

The Romanian Ministry of Defense has decided to purchase 44 AAV-7 amphibious vehicles from the United States. This move raises considerable doubts, mainly because the Americans decommissioned this equipment due to technical problems. These problems were so significant that the U.S. Army issued a swimming ban for AAV-7 amphibians at one point.

The AAV-7 (Amphibious Assault Vehicle) is a vehicle that was built in the 1980s for the needs of the Marine Corps. It left service under rather unpleasant circumstances. As Łukasz Michalik, a journalist for Wirtualna Polska, wrote, the AAV-7 received a swimming ban that could only be lifted in exceptional circumstances (e.g., during wartime). The decision was made after an accident in 2020, during which nine American soldiers lost their lives while training with these machines.

The Ukrainian portal Defence Express questioned the rationale behind purchasing such vehicles, reminding readers that their problems largely stemmed from hull leaks. Even if these issues are resolved, and the equipment is prepared for sale, the question arises as to how long the over-40-year-old AAV-7 will be able to serve in the Romanian army.

The authorities in Bucharest seem to be between a rock and a hard place. Currently, the local army does not have military amphibious vehicles, and it is emphasized that such vehicles are necessary due to the country's geographical location. Information about the interest in AAV-7 appeared last year, but back then, there were about 21 units of the AAV-7 in three different versions: AAVP-7A1, AAVC-7A1, and AAVR-7A1. Ultimately, the contract is to cover as many as 44 units of AAV-7 (it is not revealed in which versions).

It is very likely that the largest part of the contract will consist of AAVP-7A1, the most popular variant of these tracked amphibians, which are used to transport soldiers during landing operations. The AAVP-7A1 is almost 8 metres in length, 3.2 metres in width, and 3 metres in hull height. It weighs about 23 metric tonnes.

Each such vehicle can carry up to 25 soldiers and three crew members. On land, the AAVP-7A1 can reach speeds of up to 70 kilometres per hour, and in the water, up to about 13 kilometres per hour.

Recently, Romanian authorities have been putting a lot of emphasis on modernizing the local army. However, the abandonment of Soviet-era equipment has so far mainly translated into purchases of valued (often new) Western arsenals, such as light armoured vehicles like JLTVs, Abrams tanks, and even F-16 fighters. In September this year, Romania also received permission to purchase F-35A fighters.