Romania buys 32 F-16 Fighting Falcon fighters from Norway for $425 million and will spend $105 million on upgrades

By: Maksim Panasovskiy | 02.07.2023, 19:02

The Romanian Ministry of Defence is investing more than half a billion dollars to buy and upgrade fourth generation F-16 Fighting Falcon fighters. Both potential deals have been approved by the US State Department.

Here's What We Know

It was reported in the autumn of 2022 that Romania would buy 32 F-16 Fighting Falcon aircraft at a total cost of €388 million, leaving almost $425 million at current exchange rates. Last month, the potential deal was approved by the State Department.

The department has now authorised the sale of hardware and software to Romania to upgrade the fighter jets. The US Congress has 30 days to consider the potential deal, which is worth $105 million.

Norway is decommissioning the F-16s, replacing them with fifth-generation F-35 Lightning II fighters, which will be armed with StormBreaker bombs. Romania, thanks to the Norwegian F-16s, will be able to get rid of Soviet MiG-21s.

Source: DSCA