UM Cugir secures €54 million deal to boost NATO ammunition production

On September 11, Romanian defence manufacturer Uzina Mecanică Cugir (UM Cugir) entered a €54 million contract to acquire specialised machinery for producing components of 12.7 × 99 mm NATO-standard ammunition. The purchase forms part of a comprehensive modernisation programme valued at RON 552.9 million, aimed at increasing output and diversifying the plant’s range for both 5.56 × 45 mm and 12.7 × 99 mm rounds. The programme is split into four stages, beginning with a feasibility study and followed by the refurbishment of an industrial hall, which will cost RON 74.5 million and is expected to be finished by December 2026.

Additional funding allocates roughly RON 68 million to 5.56 mm capacity and over RON 409 million to the larger-calibre production. Financing comes from Romanian government backing approved two years earlier together with UM Cugir’s own capital. Management called the initiative the most important development in the company’s last three decades, promising technological upgrades, higher industrial capacity, improved working conditions and more efficient resource use. The Cugir plant, founded in 1799 under the Habsburg Empire, was divided into its current form in 2004.