Romania invests EUR 32 mln in airfield for its F16 fighters

Romania is currently working on modernizing the Fetesti 86 military base which will host the first F16 fighters the country will get in 2016. The base must reach NATO standards. The total investment in the Fetesti airbase is EUR 32 million, of which NATO provided EUR 21 million. The Romanian Ministry of Defense will cover the remaining EUR 11 million, defense minister Mircea Dusa recently said. The projects includes revamping and extending the runway from 2.5 kilometers to 2.8 kilometers as well as revamping the hangars, fuel deposits and armories. Romania decided to buy 12 second-hand F16 multirole fighter aircrafts from Portugal, in October 2013. The total price Romania paid for these aircraft, including the upgrade done by American company Lockheed Martin, is over EUR 600 million. Six of the planes have already been modernized and Romanian pilots have been training on them in Portugal in the past months. Acquisition of second – hand F16 jets from Portugal, again on Romania’s agenda, for over EUR 600 million Romanian PM becomes co-pilot on F16 jet during Dacian Viper demonstration flights Romania to welcome Portuguese military for NATO Air Police drills this spring editor@romania-insider.com (Photo source: Baza 86 Aeriana Borcea Facebook page)