Media: Romania to receive installment plan for F-16 planes from US

The United States will send Romania a document concerning an installment plan for the potential sale of used F-16 aircrafts, to which Romania might respond with a new offer for the planes, according to Mediafax newswire, quoting people close to the matter. Romanian authorities expect to receive the document in April or early May. In March 2010, Romania's High Council for National Defense (CSAT) approved the Defense Ministry's proposal to purchase 24 used F-16 fighter aircraft, for around USD 1.3 billion. However, in August, Prime Minister Emil Boc said the government does not have the financial resources to buy the planes. Until Romania can afford a multirole aircraft, it plans to upgrade the MiG-21s already in use. According to sources in the defense industry, the Air Force will spend EUR1 million per plane to upgrade 24 MiG-21 LanceRs over the next years. Mediafax