The Government of Romania revealed last week its intention to acquire 32 F-16 Fighting Falcon fighters from the Royal Norwegian Air Force (RNoAF). oslo already sold 12 aircraft to a civil company North-American.
On Friday (10), the Romanian portal Digi24 revealed that Defense Minister Vasile Dyncu sent a letter to parliament, requesting authorization for the acquisition of used fighters. The objective is to reinforce the F-16 fleet of the Romanian Air Force, which currently has 14 F-16AM and three F-16BM. The jets were purchased from Portugal between 2016 and 2020. In addition to the F-16s, the country also has 16 former MiG-21 LanceRs.
The purchase is estimated at 454 million euros (US$514 million), with 354 million for the aircraft and 100 million euros for logistical and the necessary modernization that will be carried out in the United States. The aircraft are about 40 years old.
The Ministry of Defense claimed to have discussed with several NATO member states about the possible acquisition of their F-16s, such as: Belgium, Denmark, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal or Greece. In the end, the only solution identified by the folder was to buy Norwegian planes.
Aircraft can fly for another 10 years
The Minister Vasile explained that the purchase of additional F-16s would allow the Air Force to carry out more monitoring and surveillance operations, mainly on the east coast of the country. He also itted to Digi24 that the military “they are not very well equipped”, hence the need to invest in more aircraft and ships manufactured even decades ago.
Vasile believes the used F-16s are functional, in good condition and still "viable" for at least another 10 years. “These F-16s are planes that have a flight resource, for example, around 2.500 hours for each aircraft. There are 10 years of functionality, plus a process of reform, modernization ”, said the minister to the portal. “It is absolutely necessary right now to have planes.”
The first F-16 for Norway flew in 1979, the country being one of the first export customers for the single-engine fighter. In all, 45 F-16s were purchased, all upgraded to the MLU (Mid-Life Upgrade) standard. In October, Oslo revealed that its F-16s will be fully retired in 2021, with the F-35 remaining the country's sole fighter vector.
