Norway’s contribution of 127 million dollars to the purchase of an advanced Patriot surface-to-air missile system for Romania demonstrates “not only its firm support for Romania, but also its commitment to allied security”, the Romanian Minister of Defense Angel Tîlvăr said. The decision of the Norwegian government to contribute significantly to this acquisition was announced at the Nordic Council in Reykjavik, which takes place until Thursday. According to the quoted source, this close cooperation between Romania and Norway reflects the common and unwavering commitment of both nations to the current security challenges, as well as to the continuous support of Ukraine in the face of Russia’s unjustified aggression. Some time ago, Bucharest announced that it was donating a Patriot system to Ukraine and that, in exchange, it would receive a similar one from the USA. In 2017, the Romanian Army ordered seven Patriot systems in the most expensive military procurement contract in history, worth 4 billion euros. Four have already arrived, two have been operationalized and the third is to be rendered operational by end of the year. Also from Norway, Romania bought 32 F-16 aircraft, nine of which have already landed in the country. Currently, the Romanian Air Force operates a single squadron of 17 F-16 aircraft purchased from Portugal and modernized.
