Moldova To Receive 20 More HMMWV Armored Infantry Vehicles From The US
The Moldovan Ministry of Defense announced on July 16 in a press release that the national army (Forţele Armate ale Republicii Moldova) will receive a package of military equipment from the United States this week, including 20 HMMWVs (High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicles). While the statement did not specify the vehicle variants or what this military package included in addition to HMMWVs, it was reported that transportation operations would take place at night, when the temperature is lower, and traffic is lighter.
This delivery, which will help to strengthen the capabilities of Moldovan Armed Forces military personnel by increasing their mobility, is based on the Memorandum of Understanding on Military Cooperation signed on December 4, 1995, by the Republic of Moldova’s Ministry of Defense and the United States Department of State. Moldova received the first shipment of 43 HMMWVs under this agreement in 2014. Following that, 41 High Mobility Multi-Purpose Wheeled Vehicles were delivered again in 2017. As far as can be determined from the images obtained from the exercises and military parades in which Moldova has participated so far, these infantry mobility vehicles (IMV) consist of M1123 MAK, M1044 MAK, M1025, M1109 UAH and M1044 variants.
The new vehicles, which will arrive this week, will be assigned to the 22nd Peacekeeping Battalion, just like the previous ones, and will be used for national and international training and exercises. The Moldovan Armed Forces’ inventory contains no other multi-purpose armored vehicle capable of carrying out such missions than the HMMWV. The Eastern European country, which has a modest military, typically deploys Soviet-era armored personnel carriers like the BTR-60PB, BTR-70, and BTR-80 for such missions, as well as the TAB-71M, which it purchased from Romania in the early 1990s.
Moldova has been strengthening ties with Germany and the United States as part of its efforts to modernize and improve the operational capabilities of its National Army. In this context, the Chisinau government made an agreement to acquire 19 used Piranha armored personnel carriers (APC) from Germany free of charge in 2021. On January 12, 2023, the first three vehicles were officially delivered to the Moldovan Armed Forces. Throughout the year, Moldova received the remaining 16 vehicles in three separate batches. All of the vehicles received, like the HMMWVs, replaced obsolete Soviet equipment and were assigned to the 22nd Peacekeeping Battalion.