On Thursday, November 21, 2024, the American company Lockheed Martin announced the signing of an intergovernmental agreement, the LOA (Letter of Offer and Acceptance), between the Romanian Ministry of Defense and the U.S. Department of Defense through the Foreign Military Sales (FMS) program for the purchase of 32 F-35A Lightning II multirole aircraft. This makes Romania the 20th user of this system worldwide.
Image: Lockheed Martin
“We are pleased to welcome Romania into the F-35 enterprise,” said Lt. Gen Mike Schmidt, director and program executive officer of the F-35 Joint Program Office. “The integration of the F-35 Lightning II aircraft into the Romanian Air Force will significantly strengthen NATO’s deterrence capabilities by providing unmatched strategic, operational, and tactical advantages. The F-35 Joint Program Office is dedicated to continuing a strong relationship with Romania, ensuring a successful transition and providing comprehensive support for their pilots and maintainers as we move forward together on this great effort.”
“For nearly 30 years, Romania and Lockheed Martin have been defense and security partners,” said Bridget Lauderdale, vice president and general manager, F-35 Lightning II Program, Lockheed Martin. “The acquisition of the F-35 further fortifies Romania’s national security and deterrent capability.”
“The F-35’s growing presence across Europe demonstrates alliance-based deterrence and is setting the foundation for NATO and allied nations’ next generation air power capability,” said Mara Motherway, vice president, Strategy and Business Development, Lockheed Martin.
The F-35A aircraft will seamlessly integrate with the country’s current fleet of F-16 Fighting Falcons (currently 17 F-16AM/BM Block 15 MLU and 12 out of 32 ordered F-16AM/BM Block 20 MLU). Last year, Lockheed Martin, along with the governments of Romania and the Kingdom of the Netherlands, established the European F-16 Training Center (EFTC) in Romania, which now consists of 18 aircraft as of yesterday. Partnerships within the EFTC ensure accelerated training, guaranteeing that Romanian pilots will be fully prepared to safely and effectively carry out their missions.
On September 13 of this year, the U.S. Department of State approved the potential sale of 32 F-35A Lightning II aircraft to Romania in a package valued at up to 7.2 billion USD. Plans also include the purchase of an additional 16 units (48 in total) to enable the gradual phase-out of a total of 49 F-16s starting in the 2030s.
On July 16 of this year, Romanian Defense Minister Angel Tîlvăr announced that the government intends to allocate up to 30 billion RON/6 billion EUR for the purchase of two squadrons of F-35A aircraft (32 units). The ministry expects the first deliveries to begin in 2032-2033.
Currently, there are over 1,000 F-35 aircraft in operation worldwide, generating more than 940,000 flight hours. F-35s operate from 33 bases globally, including 10 bases on home soil. In light of the growing expansion of adversaries and the aging of previous-generation aircraft, the F-35 will play a key role in maintaining air dominance for decades to come.
Regarding the latest key successes of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program, construction has recently begun on the first of 64 aircraft for Finland, a production agreement has been signed for the first of 24 Czech units, an intergovernmental agreement for Greece to purchase 20 F-35As (with an option for 20 more) has been finalized, and the first Polish F-35A Husarz (of 32 ordered) was unveiled. Meanwhile, Italy announced plans to acquire an additional 25 F-35s, including 15 F-35As and 10 F-35Bs. The Kingdom of the Netherlands declared full operational capability for its F-35A fleet, which will be increased to 58, and according to media reports, the U.S. has proposed Turkey’s return to the program.