Pentagon approved the sale of equipment to Romania for the modernization of F-16 aircraft
The American State Department approved the potential sale of equipment and services to Romania for the modernization of 32 F-16 aircraft, according to Agerpres.
The estimated value of the sale of these equipment and services is 105 million dollars, the Pentagon announced.
Romania's air force operates a fleet of 17 F-16s, purchased from Portugal, and is currently buying 32 F-16s from Norway.
Norway announced in early June that it had completed the sale of 32 of its F-16 fighter jets to Romania following the green light given by the US and Norwegian authorities. The agreement for this sale was signed for an amount of 388 million euros last November.
It should be noted that Romania intends to procure the latest generation F-35 aircraft. These aircraft, equipped with a wide range of advanced sensors, the ability to exchange encrypted information in real time with both air platforms and ground-based defense systems, the ability to truly manage the operational picture of the battlefield, as well and with intelligent high-precision munitions, allow achieving and maintaining air superiority, a mandatory condition for ensuring sovereignty in the national airspace and, if necessary, for its defense.
The transition to 5th generation aircraft, even if it is theoretically scheduled to take place after 2030, will take years and requires, in addition to contracts signed in advance and large payments made in installments before actually seeing the devices delivered, infrastructure preparations , logistics and pilot training. Currently, the Romanian Air Force has 17 F-16 aircraft in the M5.2R configuration, which will be upgraded to the M6.6 configuration, purchased based on the provisions of the Concept for the gradual realization of the air defense capability within the "Multirole Aircraft of the Air Force".
The 17 F-16 aircraft were bought in two installments from Portugal and were modernized with the help of the USA, and the whole package cost Romania about 628 million euros, including personnel training.
