Romania plans to buy several secondhand F-16 fighter jets to upgrade its air force.
The country's Supreme Defense Council, or CSAT, said Tuesday the Defense Ministry had decided to purchase 24 secondhand F-16 jets.
"Since Romania does not have the necessary financial resources to buy new multirole aircraft, the CSAT has approved the defense ministry's proposal to purchase 24 secondhand F-16 jets. The decision will be submitted to Parliament for approval," a statement on the Web site of President Traian Basescu said.
The jets, initially developed by General Dynamics for the U.S. Air Force and produced by Lockheed Martin, will replace the MiG-21 Lancer jets used by the Romanian air force. These Soviet-made jets were developed in the 1950s.
The statement didn't give details on the price or the actual purchase partner. The Romanian news agency NewsIn quoted military officials saying that the planes would be purchased via an intergovernmental contract with the United States, which would be handing Romania the planes for free in return for bringing them up to NATO standards.
A former Soviet satellite state, Romania joined NATO in 2004 and the European Union three years later. It has 945 troops in Afghanistan but wants to increase this number to 1,600 by the end of this year. NATO is hoping for increased military contributions from its new member states to offset changes in the troop structure in Afghanistan.
Bucharest had also mulled to purchase JAS-39 Gripens, produced by Saab from Sweden, Eurofighter Typhoons built by a consortium including European Aeronautic & Space Co, Britain's BAE Systems and Alenia/Finmeccanica from Italy; Boeing-made F-18s, and Rafales from French company Dassault. The secondhand F-16 jets likely meant the cheapest option.
That doesn't mean Romania made a bad choice.
The F-16 Fighting Falcon is a multirole jet fighter aircraft that has proven very successful. Twenty-five nations have bought it, with more than 4,400 models built since production began in 1976.
It will remain in service with the U.S. Air Force until 2025, when it will be gradually replaced by the F-35 Lightning II.
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