Romania gets on board the American F-35 fighter

11 April 20231 year ago babelfish

Romania has decided to purchase F-35 fighter jets. It is the last European country to choose the US aircraft made by Lockheed Martin. All the details

Romania to buy US-made F-35 fighters from Lockheed Martin.

This was decided today by the meeting of the Supreme Defense Council (CSAT).

It is the last European country to choose the US aircraft made by Lockheed Martin.

The past five years have proved fruitful for Lockheed Martin in Europe, as six countries have selected the American company's fifth-generation F-35 fighter jets. As Defense News recalls, in 2018 Belgium became the first Foreign Military Sales customer of the F-35 from Europe, committing to purchase 34 F-35A aircraft. Two years later, Poland followed up with plans to acquire 32 F-35As.

In 2021, Switzerland and Finland have each chosen the platform to replace their respective F-18 Hornets, with the former committing to 36 aircraft and the latter to 64. The Czech Republic has also committed to purchase 24 F-35As while collects his Gripens.

And last December 14, the German Defense Ministry said it was buying 35 fifth-generation fighters from Lockheed Martin. Without forgetting that last October Austria was considering the fifth generation stealth fighter as a potential replacement for its Eurofighter Typhoon fleet after 2030. And Greece has also sent an official request to the United States for the purchase of 20 fighters F-35 last July.

On the other hand, last June the American defense contractor had declared that he expected an increase in orders in Europe for his fifth generation fighter.

All the details.

THE DECISION OF THE SUPREME DEFENSE COUNCIL OF ROMANIA ON THE F-35

“The process of modernizing the air force will continue with the acquisition of 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 defense systems, the ability to effectively manage the operational picture of the battlefield, even with munitions precision intelligent, they allow to achieve and maintain air superiority, a mandatory condition for guaranteeing sovereignty in the national airspace and, if necessary, for its defence. In this sense, the members of the Council have approved the Concept of achieving the operational capability of air defense with multi-role aircraft of the fifth generation”, reads a statement from the presidential administration in Bucharest.

“Having robust, credible, interoperable, flexible and efficient air defense operational capabilities… as part of our commitments as a NATO and EU state is key for Romania to achieve its defense policy objectives,” the statement added.

THE FIGHTERS OF THE ROMANIAN AIR FORCE

In response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Romania, which shares a 650km border with the latter, increased its defense spending to 2.5% of GDP from 2% previously, thanks to efforts to upgrade his outdated military equipment. The country also said last year it would buy 32 used F-16 jets from Norway, Bloomberg said.

As The Avionist recalls, the Romanian Air Force has so far purchased a total of 49 F-16s: 17 from Portugal, which are already in service, and another 32 jets from the former Royal Norwegian Air Force, which will be delivered starting this year. The F-16s will allow the RoAF to retire its MiG-21 LanceR, the upgraded avionics and weapon systems version of the MiG-21 Fishbed, developed by Elbit Systems and Aerostar Bacău for Romania, and will serve as fillers until delivery of the first F-35s.

On the other hand, last year, President Klaus Iohannis stated that Romania was evaluating the acquisition of F-35 aircraft. Already in 2019, Lockheed Martin had envisaged Romania among "potential future customers of foreign military sales".

However, the board didn't come up with timelines or numbers.

This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Start Magazine at the URL https://www.startmag.it/smartcity/la-romania-sale-a-bordo-del-caccia-americano-f-35/ on Tue, 11 Apr 2023 14:07:52 +0000.