Romanian Ministry of Defence refutes false claims on F‑16 missions

Russian propaganda services are once again spreading false information about Romanian F-16s, reports Defence Romania. This time, the Russians claim to see them flying over Odesa, allegedly carrying out combat missions. The Romanian Ministry of Defence quickly refuted the Russian reports, emphasizing that national F-16s conduct training and observation missions exclusively in their airspace and under international law. What is known about these fighters?

"We are notifying you about a new disinformation attempt by propaganda channels linked to the Russian Federation in connection with a series of flight missions carried out last week by F-16 aircraft in Ukrainian airspace in the Odesa region," the Romanian Ministry of Defence announced via the Inforadar platform. According to Defence Romania, the Russians claimed that F-16 fighters are taking off from Romanian airports and carrying out combat missions over Ukraine.

This is not the first time the Russians have tried to spread disinformation about Romanian F-16 fighters. For example, in January 2024, a report appeared on social media about an alleged attack by a Romanian F-16A fighter on Russian units stationed near Kherson in Ukraine. However, this was a rather unsuccessful attempt at manipulating facts, as Romania does not even possess F-16 fighters in the A version, which the Romanian Ministry of Defence pointed out at the time.

The Romanian Air Force has F-16 fighters in the A/B construction version, which have been upgraded to MLU 5.2 and MLU 6.5 versions. We are talking about 17 fighters purchased from Portugal and 32 fighters acquired from Norway after Oslo retired them from service. These are multi-role machines with a range estimated at about 3,200 kilometres, capable of flying at speeds up to 2,100 kilometres per hour and operating at an altitude of up to 14,000 metres. These fighters are armed with a six-barrel 20 mm M61 Vulcan cannon. Additionally, depending on the type of mission, they can carry a wide range of weapons, such as AIM-9 Sidewinder missiles or Paveway or JDAM bombs.

Since the announcement of F-16 deliveries to Ukraine, a lot of time has passed, allowing Russia to prepare for their arrival, which Gen. Waldemar Skrzypczak, a former ground forces commander, noted some time ago in an interview with WP Tech. Preparations include bringing air defence systems to eastern Ukraine and preparing plans for airports that could serve Ukrainians as F-16 bases.

Apparently, another element has been added to this list. This involves increasing the motivation of soldiers to eliminate Western aircraft. Defence Romania reports that on Tuesday, the Kremlin announced a reward of 15 million roubles (about £140,000) for shooting down the first F-16 fighter in Ukraine. Previously, Russian authorities announced similar rewards for destroying Abrams tanks or Patriot systems.