Romania suspends operation of its MiG-21 LanceR fighter jets

Romania has suspended all MiG-21 LanceR flight operations as of Friday, April 15, due to the high accident rate of these fighters.

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According to an Air Force (Forțele Aeriene Române) press release, the decision was taken by order of the Chief of the Defense General Staff, General Daniel Petrescu.

The measure was taken in view of the considerable incidence of aviation occurrences and accidents recorded during the operation of MiG-21 LanceR aircraft, resulting in several casualties and damaged or destroyed aircraft, in order to improve aviation safety and prevent the occurrence of more accidents by reducing the risks associated with technical failures.

During the suspension of MiG-21 LanceR flight activities, the Romanian Air Force will continue to execute the Air Police combat service with F-16 aircraft from its fleet, supported by allied aircraft deployed in Romania, within the Enhanced Air Police mission under NATO command.

In addition, ground defense systems will perform air surveillance missions under national command, as well as within NATO’s Integrated Air and Missile Defense System.

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At the same time, steps have been taken to accelerate the acquisition of 32 F-16 aircraft from Norway, which will form two additional squadrons in the coming period. The bill approving this acquisition has passed through the legislative transparency phase and is in the approval circuit, to be submitted to the Romanian Parliament as soon as possible.

These future three squadrons of F-16 fighters will have their operability guaranteed for a minimum of 10 years, at which point they should begin transitioning to the Lockheed Martin F-35 fifth-generation fighter aircraft.

The end of the rope

In early March this year, a MiG-21 LanceR crashed in Romania during an air patrol mission on the Ukrainian border, the pilot did not survive.

The IAR 330-Puma helicopter sent to search for the missing MiG-21 aircraft also crashed, and all seven crew members lost their lives.

Despite having been modernized during the 1990s with updated Israeli avionics and electronics, the LanceR are still MiG-21s with many years of life and many flight hours under their belts.

Moreover, since Romania’s entry into the Western orbit (and subsequent integration into NATO), the Romanian Air Force has found it difficult to obtain good quality spare parts for it´s MiG-21s, given the restrictions imposed by Russia on their export to antagonistic countries.