Baza 86 Aeriana, at Cocargeaua (Borcea) with the Escadrila 53 Vanatoare, will take over officially the Air Policing of the eastern part of the country from the 14th of March. This was confirmed by the Romanian Ministry of National Defence.
Romania decided in 2012 that it will acquire a new type of fighter jet to replace the MiG-21 LanceR, serving in the Romanian Air Force (Romanian: Forțele Aeriene Române). A year later Romania and both Portugal and the US agreed the purchase/sell of 12 used F-16 jets.
The 12 planes were delivered between 2016 and 2017, as follows:
• 6 airplanes were shipped on 29.09.2016
• 3 planes delivered on 15.11.2016
• 3 airplanes were shipped on 28.09.2017
The western part of the country is still guarded with the MiG-21 from Baza 71 Aeriana, Câmpia Turzii. Altough there are plans to procure more F-16 jets, no official statement about this.
Escadrila 711 Aviatie Lupta from Câmpia Turzii will still use the LanceR for some time in the future:
