Romania Announces Plans to Procure the F-35 

Romania has decided to press ahead with acquisition of the Lockheed Martin F-35 fifth-generation fighter. The decision was announced following a meeting on 11 April 2023 of the country’s Supreme National Defence Council, which is led by Romanian President Klaus Iohannis.

While the agenda of the meeting focused mainly on the security situation in the Black Sea region, a summary of the meeting on the council’s website noted that “the achievement of robust, credible, interoperable, flexible and efficient air defence operational capabilities, intended both to fulfil the commitments assumed as a result of NATO and EU membership as well as to deter a possible aggression, is the essential condition for fulfilling the objectives of the defence policy of Romania”.

The summary then added, “The process of modernization of the air force will continue with the purchase 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-based defence systems, the ability to actually manage the operational picture of the battlefield, as well and with high-precision intelligent munitions, allow achieving and maintaining air superiority: a mandatory condition for ensuring sovereignty in the national airspace and, if necessary, for its defence.

“In this sense, the members of the Council approved the concept of achieving the operational capability of air defence with fifth-generation multi-role aircraft.”

No mention of numbers was made – and this is, of course, the very first stage of the acquisition process – but an ESD source in Romania suggested the Romanian Air Force (RoAF) would be looking to introduce the F-35 into service around 2030.

Since Romania joined NATO in 2004 the RoAF has long aspired to operating the F-35, even when its frontline combat fleet still consisted of MiG-21 Lancers.

The RoAF’s current combat aircraft inventory consists mainly of 17 refurbished ex-Portuguese Lockheed Martin F-16AM/BMs (14 single-seat AMs and three twin-seat BMs), which were acquired between October 2016 and March 2021. An initial operational capability with the first 12 of these aircraft was declared in March 2019.

With the last of the RoAF’s MiG-21s (six Lancer Bs and 16 Lancer Cs) due to be withdrawn in May, the Romanian Ministry of National Defence stated in December 2021 that it planned to acquire 32 ex-Norwegian F-16s to add to its current Falcon fleet.

While previously there was always some question as to whether Romania could afford to buy F-35s, Russia’s February 2022 invasion of Ukraine spurred the Romanian government to declare in October of that year that it would increase defence spending to 2.5% of GDP (it was 1.86% of GDP in 2021).

Romania is likely to spend up to USD 8 Bn (EUR 7.3 Bn) on defence in 2023. Romania’s 2022 budget allocated RON25.9 billion (USD 6.14 Bn) to defence: a 14% nominal increase on 2021.

Peter Felstead