Moldova receives Piranha APCs

The Moldovan army received the first three of 19 Piranha 3H APCs on 12 January. (Moldovan MoD)

The Moldovan army received the first three of 19 Piranha 3H armoured personnel carriers (APCs) on 12 January, the Moldovan and German ministries of Defence (MoDs) announced the same day. The delivery is part of a bilateral agreement signed by the two countries in October 2022 during a visit by then German Defence Minister Christine Lambrecht. The procurement is funded by the German government's Enable and Enhance Initiative, with the vehicles coming from industry stocks.

The Piranhas will be assigned to the Moldovan National Army's 22nd ‘Blue Helmets' peacekeeping battalion. The Moldovan MoD told Janes on 16 January that the APCs would replace “some of the armoured vehicles” assigned to the battalion, “which were manufactured during the Soviet period and require additional expenses for repair and maintenance”. The Moldovan army operates TAB-71, MT-LB, and BTR-60 APCs, according to Janes World Armies.

Attending the event, Anatolie Nosatîi, defence minister of Moldova, placed the donation in the context of achieving the objective of modernising and strengthening the defence capabilities of the Moldovan National Army, adding that they would be used for training and to increase interoperability. Ullrich Kinne, chargé d'affaires at the German embassy in Chișinău, said, “This delivery, as part of the National Army Modernisation Initiative with the support of the German Federal Government, improves the defence capacity of the Republic of Moldova and its capabilities to participate in international peacekeeping missions.”