Romania is stopping the use of its military MIG-21 LanceRs

Romania is stopping the use of its military MIG-21 LanceRs.

Reuters informs about this, citing the Ministry of Defense.

Romanian military explains its waiver of military MiG 21 LanceR jets with their excessive accident rate. The latest accident involving a MiG 21 happened on March 2, 2022. Back then, Romania lost both the MiG-21 and the Puma helicopter dispatched to search for it in one day.

Instead, the Romanians plan to speed up the transition of the Air Force to the use or F-16s.

In 2016, Romania acquired a squadron of second-hand F-16s from Portugal. At the end of 2021, it approved on agreement on the purchase of an extra 32 aircraft of this type from Norway.

Romania plans to operate three F-16 squadrons for at least 10 years and then could transition to the fifth-generation F-35 jets.

According to the open sources, until recently, Romania was operating a fleet of twenty-seven MiG-21 LanceRs, 19 of which were used in combat and the remaining ones were of two-seat training and combat use.

Despite the fact that these are third-generation aircraft, they have undergone significant modernization with the participation of the Israeli company Elbit.

A new EL/M-2032 radar was installed on the aircraft, which allows detecting targets at a distance of 70 km and has a radar warning station. The aircraft is also equipped with an inertial LISA 4000 navigation system, windshield indicators, and a modem.

The ventral attachment point, in addition to serving as an additional tank space, allows installing weapons.

Romania has received Israeli Python air-to-air missiles and Opher guided bombs.

This upgrade turns the MiG-21 into a 4th generation aircraft.