Overview
- The intergovernmental transfer was signed on November 3 in Bucharest by Brigadier General Ion-Cornel Pleșa and Linda Ruseler, formalizing Romania’s ownership of 18 former Dutch F-16s.
- The aircraft are assigned to the European F-16 Training Center at Fetesti to deliver conversion and tactical training for Romanian, NATO and Ukrainian pilots.
- Romanian and Dutch officials framed the handover as deepening cooperation and reinforcing deterrence along NATO’s eastern flank.
- The jets were transferred for a symbolic price of €1 under a deal first announced at the NATO summit in The Hague in June 2025.
- Romania’s F-16 inventory rises to a reported 67 aircraft as the Netherlands transitions to F-35As and Bucharest pursues 32 F-35As.