The Government of Norway will pay US$20,9 million to maintain its F-16 Fighting Falcon fighters before selling them to Romania and a private US company. The planes have already been completely replaced by the 35th Generation F-5.
As reported by the portal Flightglobal, the company Kongsberg Aviation Maintenance Services received on Tuesday (24) a contract worth NOK 200 million from the Norwegian Defense Materiel Agency (NDMA) “to overhaul and prepare for sale an additional batch of F-16 aircraft.” The planes are all sourced from the Royal Norwegian Air Force (RNoAF) fleet.
According to Kongsberg, NDMA “entered into a contract with Draken International for the sale of up to 12 ex-Norwegian F-16s and is in the process of concluding the sale of another 32 aircraft to Romania”.
On the same day, the Romanian Defense Minister, Vasile Dincu, revealed that the country's government was accelerating the fighter purchase process F-16AM/BM ex-RNoAF. The country has demonstrated interest in jets since last year, when Oslo announced the retirement of its aircraft.
“In the last two months, we accelerated our s with the Norwegian side and with the US, to accelerate the acquisition of the F-16″, said Vasile in a statement broadcast by broadcaster Digi24 on Tuesday (24).
The maintenance, carried out by the company at its facility in Kjeller, near Oslo, also includes work on the Pratt & Whitney F100 engines. “The aircraft will be returned to operational status and then maintained so they are ready for service again.”
“Awaiting official approval from Norwegian and US authorities, the first aircraft are expected to be delivered to Draken this year and to Romania in 2023”, adds the statement.
“I am confident that our aircraft will serve Draken and Romania well for many years to come”, says Magnus Hansvold, NDMA's director of material disposal.
In early January 2022, the RNoAF ended more than 42 years of F-16 operation. The retirement of the planes was marked by the Assumption into air defense service by the stealthy F-35A.
Norway was one of the first countries to operate the F-16, receiving its first units in 1980, ordered in 1975. Later the fighters were updated with the MLU (Mid Life Upgrade) program, being redesignated F-16AM and BM. Of the 57 aircraft in the now retired fleet, 12 have already been sold to the US civil company Draken, who also bought Dutch planes of the same model.
A Draken is one of the most recognized companies in the field of aggressor/adversary services. Companies in this market operate in air combat training, playing the role of the enemy and serving as a simulated target for government air force aviators.
In this way, the States save when contracting the flight hours of the companies, without having to pay to maintain the planes. However, despite having contracts with several companies in this sector – including Draken itself – the United States still maintains the so-called Aggressor Squadrons in its Air Force and Navy (in the latter they are called adversary).
