Romania will use its fleet of Soviet-era MiG-21s for another year, government officials said, just a month after deciding to ground them following a slew of problems.
“Our Air Force made an analysis based on objective criteria, like the regional security context, the solutions we have for defending our airspace and personnel safety,” said defense ministry spokesman Constantin Spanu.
The jets will be used only for air policing missions and flight training.
“The intention is to retire them definitively on 15 May of next year,” he said.
NATO member Romania is dependent on a squadron of F-16 jets bought recently from Portugal and on allied air policing missions.
The military alliance strengthened its eastern flank following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. NATO members have deployed troop reinforcements and sent equipment to Romania, which shares a 600-kilometer border with Ukraine.
Romania has pledged to accelerate its efforts to buy 32 F-16 jets from Norway, adding two more squadrons to the country’s air force, Mr Spanu said.
Romania is believed to have about two dozen MiG-21 fighters. During the communist regime, the country which was part of the Warsaw Pact had around 400 MiG-21s.
But “a considerable number of incidences and aviation accidents reported while using the MiG-21 LanceR” pushed Romania to suspend its use last month.
The announcement came one day after the Romanian military reported that a MiG-21 experienced problems with its landing gear.
A MiG-21 disappeared from the radar while on patrol near the Black Sea in early March. It was later found to have crashed, killing the pilot.
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