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The Minister of National Defense, Angel Tilvar, signed, on Tuesday, on the sidelines of the NATO Summit in Vilnius, the Joint Declaration on the formalization of a training coalition for the Ukrainian air forces, for the operation of the F-16 aircraft, the Ministry of National Defence (MApN) reported.
"Our major interest is to have as soon as possible well-trained Romanian pilots to operate the F-16 aircraft of the Romanian Air Force. We all know how complex it is to ensure the security of the airspace in the Black Sea region, on the NATO border. We are in the process of transferring another 32 aircraft from Norway and we will thus have, we hope as soon as possible, three squadrons equipped with multi-role F-16 Fighting Falcon aircraft," said the minister, according to a press release from MApN sent to AGERPRES on Wednesday.
He emphasized that achieving this goal is "essential" for the Romanian Army and "an extremely important step for the transition to the 5th generation aircraft, the F-35".
"I must also highlight the impact of this program for the national defence industry, in the context in which Aerostar Bacau was designated as the Maintenance Center for F-16, ensuring the transfer of state-of-the-art technology to Romania," added Angel Tilvar.
The signing of the joint declaration comes in the context in which the Supreme Council of Defense of the Country (CSAT) approved this month the establishment of a training facility in Romania, for the personnel of the Romanian Air Force who operate F-16 aircraft, a facility which, in a subsequent phase of establishment, could be opened to the participation of seafaring personnel from NATO allied and partner states, including Ukraine.
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 have an essential role in the F-16 program of the Romanian Air Force.
