The second convoy with French military equipment as part of the Leclerc tank company arrived by rail at Voula station, Brasov county, on Wednesday, November 16, the Ministry of Defense reports. In total, the French army brought 13 Leclerc tanks to Romania.

French Leclerc tank in RomaniaPhoto: Etat-major des armees

The military equipment entered the country on November 14 at the Kurtici checkpoint, Arad county, and is intended to complement the technical means of the NATO Battle Group Forward Presence (BGFP) stationed in Chink.

The first convoy of French military equipment, consisting of armored personnel carriers, arrived in Romania on October 23.

NATO battle group in Romania led by France

The NATO Battlegroup Romania (BGFP) was established in May through the transformation of the allied multinational elements of the NATO Response Force deployed in our country.

The Minister of the Armed Forces of France announced on October 11 that France will strengthen its military presence on NATO’s eastern flank by deploying armored vehicles and Leclerc tanks in Romania.

Klaus Iohannis welcomed President Emmanuel Macron’s decision to strengthen France’s military presence in Romania. “An important gesture for NATO’s eastern flank, a sign of Alliance solidarity,” Johannis wrote on Twitter.

At the request of France to assume the role of a framework nation, a French battalion deployed in Romania, which is considered the main focus of the NATO Response Force (VJTF), forms the BGFP on the national territory, combining on a rotational basis the effective forces of Belgium and the Netherlands. As part of the Rapid Reaction Force, France will deploy 500 soldiers with armored vehicles and combat equipment to Romania, French Army Chief of Staff General Thierry Burckhard said at the time.

The French battalion, which consisted of 500 soldiers, was initially deployed at the Mykhailo Kogelnichyanu base, located in Constanta, approximately one hundred kilometers from the border with Ukraine. However, in a short time, the Cincu base proved itself as a solution that offered the most guarantees for maintaining long-term of NATO’s military presence, according to data sent on Tuesday by the French embassy in Bucharest.