The Joint Declaration on the formalization of the Training Coalition for the Ukrainian Air Force with a view of operating the F-16 aircraft was signed

Minister of National Defence, Angel Tîlvãr, signed on Tuesday, July 11, as part of the NATO Summit from Vilnius, the Joint Declaration on the formalization of the Training Coalition for the Ukrainian Air Force, in order to operate the F-16 aircraft.

By signing the Joint Declaration, Romania joins an important group of Allied states consisting of Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Luxembourg, Norway, Poland, Portugal, the Kingdom of the Netherlands, Sweden and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

The project will also bring important benefits to Romania and will play an essential role in the Romanian Air Force’s F-16 program.

"Our major interest is to have, as soon as possible, well-trained Romanian pilots to operate F-16 aircraft that entered the property of the Romanian Air Force. We all know how complex is ensuring the security of the airspace in the Black Sea region, at the NATO border. We are in the process of transferring another 32 aircraft from Norway and, thus, will hopefully have three squadrons equipped with F-16 Fighting Falcon multi-role aircraft as soon as possible. Achieving this goal is essential for the Romanian Armed Forces and an extremely important step for the transition to the fifth-generation aircraft, the F-35 ones. I must also emphasize the impact of this program on the national defence industry, in the context in which Aerostar Bacãu was designated as the Maintenance Center for F-16, thus ensuring the transfer of state-of-the-art technology to Romania," Minister Tîlvãr said.

The signing of the Joint Declaration comes in the context in which, in the meeting of July 6, 2023, the Homeland Defence Supreme Council Supreme Council approved the establishment in Romania of a training facility for Romanian Air Force personnel who operate the F-16 aircraft, facilities which, in a phase subsequent to its establishment, will be open to the participation of the navigating personnel from the NATO allied and partner states (including Ukraine).

The Press Office