Romania to boost defense with state-of-the-art F-35 aircraft

Romania’s Supreme Council for National Defense (CSAT) approved the modernization of the Air Force with the purchase of state-of-the-art F-35 aircraft.

"These aircraft, equipped with a wide range of advanced sensors, real-time encrypted information exchange capabilities with airborne platforms and ground-based defense systems, real-time operational image management capabilities, as well as high-precision smart munitions, enable the achievement and maintenance of air superiority, which is a mandatory condition for ensuring sovereignty in national airspace and, if needed, for its defense,” says the official pressrelease from Romania’s Presidential Administration.

“The achievement of robust, credible, interoperable, flexible, and efficient operational capabilities for air defense, aimed at fulfilling the commitments assumed as a NATO and EU member state and deterring possible aggression, represents the essential condition for achieving Romania's defense policy objectives,” the same source said.

The spectrum of defense capabilities mentioned will include, among others, increased air defense and anti-missile capabilities for the protection of own forces, as well as advanced and diversified capabilities for long-range precision firepower," according to the aforementioned source.

Romania’s CSAT approved the Concept for achieving operational air defense capabilities with fifth-generation multirole aircraft in a meeting at Cotroceni Palace chaired by president Klaus Iohannis.

The agenda of the meeting focused primarily on the security situation in the Black Sea region and its implications for Romania, in light of the recent developments related to Russia's aggression against Ukraine. Also discussed were external interventions in the democratic process in the Republic of Moldova, as well as the prospects for continued support from NATO, the European Union, and the international community for Ukraine.

"The Republic of Moldova is facing pressures on multiple fronts aimed at diminishing the expressed support of its citizens for a firm pro-European course, reforms, democracy, and prosperity. [...] The Republic of Moldova is the target of unprecedentedly intense and complex hybrid actions aimed at destabilization. During today's meeting, Council members emphasized the professional, democratic, and responsible manner in which these actions have been managed by the authorities in Chisinau. In this context, the optimal ways of continuing Romania's resolute support for the efforts of the Republic of Moldova to strengthen its resilience were analyzed,” reads the press release.