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New F-16, Rocket Launcher Buy to Help Fill Romania’s NATO Spending Commitments

© AP Photo / U.S. Air Force via APIn this image provided by the U.S. Air Force, an F-16 Fighting Falcon takes off from Incirlik Air Base, Turkey, as the U.S. on Wednesday, Aug. 12, 2015, launched its first airstrikes by Turkey-based F-16 fighter jets against Islamic State targets in Syria
In this image provided by the U.S. Air Force, an F-16 Fighting Falcon takes off from Incirlik Air Base, Turkey, as the U.S. on Wednesday, Aug. 12, 2015, launched its first airstrikes by Turkey-based F-16 fighter jets against Islamic State targets in Syria - Sputnik International
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The government of Romania is taking concrete steps to reach its requirement to spend 2 percent of its GDP on defense, a measure that helps equally distribute the financial burden of maintaining the alliance across NATO members, by announcing plans to acquire three dozen F-16 aircraft and transportable artillery rockets.

The beneficiaries of the new spending would be Lockheed Martin Missiles & Fire Control and BAE Systems, which make the High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS), and surprise, surprise, Lockheed Martin proper, which bought the right to manufacture F-16 Fighting Falcons from General Dynamics in 1993.

Paratroopers prepare for deployment onboard a US aircraft during the Swift Response 2017 international military exercise at Papa Airbase near Papa, 146 kms southwest of Budapest, Hungary, Tuesday, July 18, 2017. Swift Response is part of the Saber Guardian 2017 (SG17) multinational military exercise held annually in the Black Sea Region as part of the U.S. European Command Joint Exercise Program. The lead organizations for Saber Guardian 2017 are U.S. Army Europe and the Bulgarian Armed Forces. SG17 is co-hosted by the Bulgarian, Hungarian and Romanian land force components and it takes place in numerous locations across Bulgaria, Hungary and Romania in the summer of 2017 - Sputnik International
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The purchase is "in the interest of safeguarding the security needs of Romania" and demonstrates Bucharest’s "commitments in relation to NATO’s structures," Defense Minister Adrian Tutuianu told local media outlets.

The Pentagon’s Defense Security Cooperation Agency, which relays information regarding foreign military sales and financing to Congress, has yet to notify lawmakers of the potential deal for F-16s and HIMARS rocket systems. Bucharest hopes the deal will be completed by 2022.

The Romanian Air Force bought 12 F-16s in 2013 for $457 million, according to Pentagon data.

In July, the DSCA announced that Romania had requested seven Patriot missile fire units and 168 PAC-3 missiles, along with related training and support, in a deal worth up to $3.9 billion. Lockheed and Massachusetts-headquartered Raytheon Corporation would be the primary contractors for the deal, which has yet to reach a conclusion. 

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