Norway has sold 32 F-16 fighter jets to Romania after signing a contract in November, “an important contribution to the strengthening of Romania’s air defenses”, a contract that provides “added value for Norway’s defense industry”, norway.postsen.com reported, citing news.ro

The sale of the planes has been approved by the authorities of the United States and Norway, Norwegian Defense Minister Bjorn Arild Gram said.

This is the largest “agreement on the disposal of military equipment” in Norway, according to the website.

According to the same source, Norwegian F-16 fighters are among the best maintained in the world and meet high technical standards.

“I want to congratulate our NATO ally Romania, which behaved professionally during the negotiations,” the minister said.

This “sale will strengthen and modernize the defense of an ally neighboring Ukraine,” which is at war with Russia, he added.

All aircraft undergo maintenance before being handed over to Romania.

The F-16 maintenance contract with Kongsberg Aviation Maintenance Services (KAMS) has been extended to provide pre-sale maintenance for 32 aircraft to Romania.

This contract also provides technical assistance and training support for Romanian technical personnel.

The value of this extended contract with KAMS is over NOK 700 million (over 295.2 million lei).

“Based on the unique knowledge and experience that KAMS has, we expect that this agreement will contribute to Romania’s aircraft service for many years,” said Gro Jære, director of Defense Materials, the agency responsible for equipping the Norwegian army.

KAMS has 40 years of experience in the maintenance, repair and modernization of Norway’s F-16 fighter fleet.

“This confirms our position as a partner and provider of maintenance services to the Norwegian defense sector and our allies,” said Kongsberg Aviation Maintenance Services CEO Atle Vollo.

“This contract provides and develops important national experience in the maintenance of combat aircraft in Norway, which will be valuable in the support and maintenance of (type) F-35 aircraft in the future,” he emphasizes.

According to the website, Norway’s Ministry of Defense commissioned the agency responsible for equipping the Norwegian military to sell F-16 systems in September 2019.

In November 2022, the agency signed a contract with Romania for the sale of two squadrons – 32 aircraft – with all equipment.

The contract includes spare parts and training of technical personnel.

The sale process is lengthy and requires approval from the United States and Norway, which therefore strictly control who can buy the F-16s.

According to the website, the value of the purchase agreement is 388 million euros.

The sale boosts profits for Norway’s defense industry, which is tasked with maintaining and modifying the planes before they are handed over.

The Norwegian agency also signed a contract for the sale of 12 F-16 aircraft to the American company Draken International, which will be used to train pilots in the fight against American fighters.

This contract is not approved by either the Americans or the Norwegians at this stage.