CHISINAU, Dec 7: Romania plans to purchase 32 F-35 Lightning II aircraft for USD 6.5 billion in the near future, which will be the most expensive contract in the country’s history, the Defense Romania news website, run by the Romanian Defense Ministry, reported on Sunday.
The F-35 procurement program will be funded exclusively from the defense ministry’s budget, excluding value added tax, the report read. It has already been approved by the Supreme Council of National Defense and is currently at the final stage of documentation following the signing of the contract.
In March 2023, the ministry said that the Romanian armed forces would be modernized in two stages, the acquisition of two squadrons of 32 aircraft, and then of another squadron of 16 aircraft. Deliveries of the first fighters are expected after 2030. The bill must now be reviewed by the Romanian parliament.
(UNI)
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