GD - Romania plans to buy F-35s to strengthen air defenses

2023-04-11 16:22:01 ET

Romania on Tuesday approved a plan to buy the latest-generation F-35 fighter jets as the country seeks to modernize its air force.

A meeting of the country’s Supreme Council of National Defense overseen by the Romanian President Klaus Iohannis said its members authorized the purchase of an unspecified number of F-35s from U.S. defense contractor Lockheed Martin ( NYSE: LMT ).

Romania, which is a member of the European Union and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, this year raised defense spending to 2.5% of its yearly economic output from 2% in reaction to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The Eastern European country shares a 400-mile border with Ukraine.

Romania's Supreme Council of National Defense met on Tuesday (Source: Office of the President of Romania)

"The achievement of robust, credible, interoperable, flexible and efficient air-defense capabilities, designed both to fulfill the commitments assumed as a result of being a NATO and EU member state and to discourage possible aggression, is the essential condition for achieving Romania's defense policy objectives," Romania’s office of the president said in a statement. "The modernization process of the Air Force will continue with the purchase of state-of-the-art F-35 aircraft."

In the months after Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, Romania has announced plans to buy Abrams tanks made by General Dynamics ( GD ) and military drones from Israel's Elbit Systems.

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