Watch Out Russia – Now Romania is Getting the F-35 – Just days after the Czech Republic officially confirmed that it would acquire two dozen Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II stealth fighters in a deal worth $6.5 billion, another NATO ally is also on board with an even larger order. Romania’s Ministry of National Defence announced on Thursday that it aims to sign a letter of acceptance in 2024 to buy 32 F-35 Lightning II fighters in the program’s first phase, and subsequently secure a further 16 aircraft.
Bucharest will acquire the first two squadrons of fifth-generation multirole fighters through the Foreign Military Sale, as a government-to-government type contract.
The Romanian ministry said it expects to receive the first jets in 2030, while the contract will also include the delivery of 35 engines, initial logistics support, training services for pilots and technical staff, simulators, weapons, as well as ammunition.
“The endowment program is designed to be completed in two stages. At the end of these, the Romanian Air Force will count three F-35 squadrons,” Romania’s Defense Ministry’s press office told Defense News in a Sept. 28 statement. “Documents for the first stage of the program were sent for the parliament’s approval.”
Romania Beefing Up Its Defenses
This is Romania’s largest arms deal to date, with the initial order reportedly worth around $6.5 billion.
“We know it takes a long time to operationalise such a capability. What we propose is to start now and in the perspective of the 2030s, when the F-16 planes we have will exhaust their resource, to be able to switch to the new type of plane,” Chief of the General Staff of Romanian Defence Forces Daniel Petrescu told reporters earlier this week.
Bucharest is actually planning ahead.
The Romanian Air Force currently operates seventeen F-16 military aircraft that it purchased from Portugal, while another deal to acquire a fleet of F-16s from Norway for 388 million euros ($410 million) was finalized in June. The first fighter jets from Norway are expected to be delivered by the end of this year.
However, the expected service life of the 32 Norwegian F-16s is limited to a maximum of 10 years, while the Portuguese aircraft are at their mid-life. The F-35 program will be implemented after 2030, and as a result, the aging F-16s are already on track to be replaced.
F-35 Salesman of the Year: Vladimir Putin
Romania’s decision to acquire the advanced aircraft from the United States has actually been part of a process that began in April during a meeting of the Romanian Supreme Council on National Defense (DSAT), a state body chaired by President Iohannis.
The deal would make Romania the largest operator of the F-35 on NATO’s eastern flank.
Poland and Finland, which each border Russian territory, have also ordered a number of F-35s for their respective air forces. Several other NATO members, including Belgium, Denmark, Italy, and Norway already operate the aircraft while Germany and now the Czech Republic are set to see the aircraft in service in the coming decade. Neutral Switzerland has also announced plans to acquire the F-35.
Russia’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 has seen NATO members significantly increase defense spending. Lockheed Martin should practically award Russian President Vladimir Putin with a salesman of the year for the F-35!
Author Experience and Expertise
A Senior Editor for 19FortyFive, Peter Suciu is a Michigan-based writer. He has contributed to more than four dozen magazines, newspapers, and websites with over 3,200 published pieces over a twenty-year career in journalism. He regularly writes about military hardware, firearms history, cybersecurity, politics, and international affairs. Peter is also a Contributing Writer for Forbes and Clearance Jobs. You can follow him on Twitter: @PeterSuciu.
