Romania joins the F-16 family

Romania was officially welcomed into the Lockheed Martin F-16 family at a reception preceding the Black Sea Defense Aerospace tradeshow. The Romanian Air Force is the 28(th) customer of the most widely used 4(th) generation multi-role fighter in the world, writes WSJ.

Romania signed a Letter of Offer and Acceptance with the U.S. Government in December 2013 which provides programmatic support to a U.S.-approved third party transfer of F-16 aircraft from Portugal to Romania. That agreement delivers 12 F-16 Block 15 midlife upgrade aircraft to Romania beginning in 2016. Lockheed Martin will design, integrate and support the installation of updated F-16 software.

“Lockheed Martin takes great pride in the F-16, from initial production to capability upgrades through the life of the aircraft,” said Roderick McLean, Lockheed Martin’s vice president and general manager for the F-16/F-22 Integrated Fighter Group. “We look forward to supporting Romania’s aircraft fleet modernization and establishing an enduring relationship as Romania revolutionizes its aviation capabilities to strengthen its national defense.”

Duane Butcher, US Charge D’Affairs, also present at the reception, said that acquiring a complete combat plane with NATO interoperability is an important step in transforming the Romanian fleet into a modern army.

“F-16 will provide the opportunity for a strong and efficient reaction in the case of a regional act of aggression, efficiency that wee need to protect NATO’s borders”, Butcher said.

Victor Ponta was also invited to the event, stating that he needed to reconsider his status as “fast and furious”.

“All my life I’ve been in love with fast cars, racing cars, Formula. I thought I was fast and furious. After this experience flying with an F-16, I realised I am very slow and very soft. After I landed, I lost my usual smile, my nerve and my energy. I didn’t lose my pride and I told Yogi Brown (the pilot) that I’ll bet him Romanian pilots will do better than him. I hope I can live to see that happening”, the PM said to the guests.

Romania’s prime minister has co-piloted an F-16 fighter jet at the end of Romanian and U.S. air exercises last month. Romania’s defense ministry signed a deal in October to buy secondhand F-16 fighter jets from Portugal to bring its air force up to NATO standards.