The United States government has authorized the possible sale of 300 AIM-9X Sidewinder Block II air-to-air missiles to equip the Romanian Air Force’s F-16 fighters.. This is clear from the most recent notification from the Department of State, by which the US Congress is notified of the possible carrying out of the operation via the FMS program.
To date, the Romanian Air Force is in the process of incorporating a second batch of F-16 fighters acquired second-hand from Norway. This is made up of a total of 32 copies, which began to be received since last November, with the delivery of the first F-16BM fighter aircraft on Norwegian soil. With his incorporation, the force completed the replacement of the MiG-21 Lancer decommissioned in May of last year.
Since the signing of the first agreements between Romania and Norway in 2022, for an amount of 388 million Euros, and with the endorsement of the United States, the Romanian government has been advancing in various negotiations to incorporate weapons packages and updates for its new F-16. One of these, authorized in July 2023, includes various hardware and software modernizations for aircraft for an amount of USD 105,000,000.
Following this line, the Defense and Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) confirmed the request today, May 14, by the government of Romania for the purchase of up to three hundred (300) AIM-9X air-to-air missiles Sidewinder Block II to equip its F-16 fighters. The amount of the operation, which reaches US$ 340.8 million, has as its main supplier the firm RTX Corporation, which includes the company Raytheon.
The package, in addition to the missiles, includes forty (40) training missiles and twenty (20) guidance units, as well as containers, technical documentation, support and training equipment for technical crews.
From the State Department they have indicated that: “The proposed sale will enhance Romania’s ability to confront current and future threats by providing air-to-air missiles for its F-16 fleet in support of NATO’s defense mission. Romania will not have difficulties absorbing these weapons into its armed forces”.
The AIM-9X Sidewinder requested by Romania corresponds to one of the latest and most modern versions of the short-range air-to-air missile. More precisely, the one called Block II. Whose tests and introduction took place between the end of the 2000s and the beginning of the 2010s.
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