“During the previous government term, the government commissioner responsible for [weapon] procurements requested information regarding the HIMARS missile systems in a letter, with a deadline of March 2022. There was no response from the American side, and the ministry considered the matter closed,” Hungary’s Defence Ministry said in a statement recently published by the state-run MTI news agency.

The statement was referring to the previous cabinet of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, who formed his fifth consecutive government in May 2022 and has served in the position since 2010.

Earlier this week, U.S. Sen. James Risch of Idaho said he had blocked the sale of 24 HIMARS weapons to Hungary.

Speaking to The Washington Post, Risch explained he halted the potential $735 million deal with Hungary due to its government’s refusal to agree to Sweden’s accession to NATO. The lawmaker is the top Republican on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

The contract was to cover 24 launchers along with more than 100 missiles, among other related gear and services.

Sweden’s application to join NATO is currently held up by Turkey and Hungary.

While Budapest’s latest announcement could represent a face-saving attempt, it also demonstrates the growing distance between the Hungarian government and many of its Western partners. Following Russia’s February 2022 invasion of Ukraine, several NATO members accused Hungary of failing to present an unequivocally negative stance against Russian President Vladimir Putin, with whom Orbán has long maintained excellent relations.

Alongside NATO’s eastern front, the expanding group of members who have ordered the Lockheed Martin-made missile launchers includes Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and Romania.

Incicaș said in an interview with Observatorul Militar, a podcast produced by the ministry, that the tank type was selected after the General Staff of the Romanian Land Forces decided it was best suited to strengthen the service’s combat punch.

The military official did not disclose the variant and number of tanks that are to be purchased and the estimated delivery schedule. Local media reported that Bucharest could acquire as many as 54 units. The Abrams is expected to replace some of Romania’s outdated Soviet-times tanks.

The latest announcement comes as Romania and other Eastern European allies are accelerating their defense acquisitions in the aftermath of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

The planned procurement could make Romania the second operator of the U.S.-made tank in Eastern Europe after Poland’s government signed a deal worth about $4.75 billion to purchase 250 M1A2 Abrams SEPv3 tanks in April 2022. Deliveries began last year. In addition to that order, in January 2023, the Polish Ministry of National Defence inked a second contract, valued at some $1.4 billion, to acquire 116 used M1A1 Abrams from the U.S., with deliveries scheduled to begin this year.