Romania has three more F-16 aircraft on Thursday / how many modern fighting planes now have the Romanian Air Forces in total
F-16 aircraft of Romanian Air Force / Source: Alexandru Aioanei, 71 Air Base “General Emanoil Ionescu”
Three aircraft F-16 Fighting Falcon, out of the 32 such aircraft purchased by Romania from the Kingdom of Norway, reached the Borcea Air Air Base on Thursday, the Ministry of National Defense (MApN) announced.
“These will be equipped with the 571 hunting aviation from the 57 Air Captain Constantin Cantacuzino, from Mihail Kogălniceanu,” said the MAPN in a press release.
“The aircraft join those already in the aerial forces and will contribute to the consolidation of the air defense capacity,” the MApN said.
So far, 21 aircraft have been delivered, of which 16 make up the 48 hunting Squadrila from Câmpia Turzii and five that will be equipped with the 571 hunting aviation from Mihail Kogălniceanu.
The completion of the reception of the entire lot is estimated for the end of 2025, according to the ministry.
How many F-16 aircraft currently does Romania have in total
The aircraft delivered on Thursday in operational state have the available resource that allows their use for a transition period of at least 10 years, until the transition to the F-35 aircraft, of the VA generation.
Thus, at this moment, Romania operates 38 F-16 aircraft (the first 17 being those in Portugal, which make up the battlefield from the air base 86 Borcea).
Our country will reach the end of the year to rely on 49 such fighters.
Thanks to the F-16 aircraft in use gradually, starting in 2016, Romania has managed to withdraw all the old Soviet Mig-21 Lancer aircraft and rely on the new Western aircraft for the NATO air space defense missions.
The 32 F-16 bought from Norway covers the period until the first F-35 come
In 2022 Romania signed a contract with the Norwegian government for about 400 million euros to purchase 32 F-16 aircraft that the Northern Country detached because it replaced with F-35 aircraft that were just equipping.
The planes, although quite old, still have a flight resource of about 2-3,000 hours, which will allow them to remain in use until Romania gradually moves to F-35.
The 32 F-16 aircraft in Norway have also passed through a MLU modernization program and are currently at the TAPE M6.5.2 standard, being planned to be modernized even until the Tape M6.6 standard.
The contract with Norway also includes spare parts, spare engines, as well as logistical support.
Romania goes to F-35 aircraft. The most expensive acquisition in the history of the army
Romania signed at the end of 2024 the contract with the US for the first 32 F-35 aircraft, out of a total of 48 devices that they intend to buy.
The acquisition of the 32 F-35 aircraft, as approved by the Parliament, will cost $ 6.5 billion and will, beyond the actual aircraft and spare parts, spare engines, staff training and the training of the first pilots, but also ammunition.
The 32 stealth aircraft are expected to enter the operation of the Romanian Air Force around 2030 and form two squadrons that will replace the oldest F-16 aircraft.
The second stage of the F-35 program that involves the purchase of 12 more planes has not yet been detailed, but the general planning implies that somewhere on the horizon of 2040 Romania will operate 48 aircraft of the fifth F-35 generation.
