Romania will buy five more F-16 fighter jets from Portugal by the end of this year and plans to purchase 36 other such aircraft in the future from other countries, such as US, Israel and Greece, according to defense minister Mihai Fifor.

The acquisition of the five F-16 aircraft will be decided through a draft bill to be adopted by the Government by the end of this year, Fifor said, according to Hotnews.ro.

Romania has already purchased 12 F-16 fighters from Portugal in a deal worth EUR 628 million, which included their refurbishing and upgrade by US group Lockheed Martin and the training of the Romanian pilots.

“In the following period, we will discuss about the other 36 F-16 aircraft that we want to acquire. There are several possibilities we are looking at and we have already addressed several countries that have F-16 and can sell them, including the US, Israel and Greece,” Fifor said.

Romania is looking to accelerate the modernization of its air forces as the MiG 21 Lancer fighters currently used by the Army have been involved in several incidents in recent years.

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Romania shows its new F-16 fighters at the December 1 military parade

editor@romania-insider.com