Norway closed sale of 32 F-16 MLU fighters to Romania

Rorwegian Defense Minister Bjørn Arild Gram reported the conclusion of the sale of 32 F-16 fighter jets to Romania for 388 million euros.

The Norwegian Defense Materiel Agency (NDMA) had already signed the sales contract to Romania for the 32 Norwegian F-16MLU aircraft in November 2022. The re-export of the fighters has the approval of Washington, whose permission is required for any transfer of US-origin defense equipment.

«The sale will strengthen and modernize the defense of an allied nation that has Ukraine as a neighbor,» asserted Bjørn Arild Gram in a statement.

See also: Norway will also train Ukrainian pilots on the F-16

A standardized F-16 fleet

With the arrival of the Norwegian F-16s, Romania will be able to replace its aging MiG-21 LanceRs, which were practically no longer flying because their operational safety had fallen to dangerous levels.

The Romanian Air Force (RoAF) already has 17 F-16 A/B fighters purchased second-hand from Portugal between 2016 and 2021, upgraded to MLU standard, in M5.2R configuration, which gives it similar capabilities to the F-16s of the 50/52 blocks.

In this way, the entire Romanian fighter fleet is standardized in a single model, which makes the logistics and availability of the fighters easier and cheaper.

The F-16s, also upgraded to MLU standard (also identified as F-16 AM/BM) are a bit more capable, because they are upgraded to M6.5.2 standard, which allows them to fire the advanced AIM-120D ARMAAM missile or IRIS-T, Sniper target designation pod, drop JDAM family bombs and other advanced capabilities.

The Romanian Air Force’s plan is to use the F-16s for 10 years, as a stopgap, with an eye on the eventual acquisition of the Lockheed Martin F-35A.

There is even an intention to upgrade the entire Romanian F-16 fleet to the M6XR configuration, which would affect the avionics, software, sensors and delivery capability of the most modern guided weapons in existence, further standardizing its fighter fleet.