Romania will buy 12 more F-16 fighter airplanes, the Ministry of Defense being in charge of preparing the acquisition procedures this year, according to Romania's Defense Minister Mihnea Motoc.

The auction will be organized in 2017 and the airplanes, which might be second-hand, will be purchased from other NATO member states.

“So far, we have requested information from all the allied countries which operate such devices, including the US and five European allies,” the Minister said for local Europa FM.

The first F-16 airplanes Romania bought from Portugal are to arrive in the country in September. The planes' cost amounted to around EUR 630 million, including their upgrade by American company Lockheed Martin and the pilots' training.

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Irina Popescu, irina.popescu@romania-insider.com