July 13 (SeeNews) - NATO member Romania will buy five more F-16 fighter jets from Portugal with double and simple command, defence minister Mihai Fifor said on Friday.
The intended purchase will be put into a draft bill and submitted to the parliament for vote by the end of the year, Fifor said during a press conference broadcast by Digi 24 TV station.
"We will purchase another five F-16s from Portugal. Mircea Dusa [defence state secretary] recently visited Portugal in this regard. There will be four single-command aircraft and one with dual-command," Fifor said.
In October 2017, Romania received the last three US-made F-16 fighter jets from Portugal, as part of its programme to replace its ageing fleet of Soviet-era MiG fighter jets with aircraft that comply with NATO standards.
In 2016, the country received the first nine F-16 fighter jets from Portugal under the programme.
The total cost of the squadron of F-16 jets was 628 million euro ($730 million), according to the defence ministry.
Romania, which joined NATO in 2004, plans to spend a total of 9.8 billion euro until 2026 to boost its defence capabilities.
($= 0.8599 euro)