The US State Department approved the possible sale to Romania of 186 AIM-120C-8 medium-range air-to-air missiles for $582 million, the Defense and Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) from Washington announced.
As reported by the "Balkan Security Network" portal, Romania is strengthening its arsenal of missiles for its F-16 fighter jets at a time when the end of the war in Ukraine is still not in sight.
The official name of the rocket is AMRAAM (Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air Missiles) AIM-120C8, and it is the latest model of this "fire-and-forget" missile, which means that after launch it flies independently to the target relying on its own sensors.
According to the manufacturer, the guidance of the new version of the rocket is better compared to the previous ones, and the range has also increased, but it is still kept secret.
Romania has also put on the purchase list the usual additional equipment, which includes missile containers, propulsion sections, control sections, telemetry kits and spare parts for warheads, KGV-135A cryptographic devices, ammunition testing and reprogramming equipment, as well as equipment and software for support, maintenance and training of personnel.
The DSCA statement states that the acquisition will improve the national security of the US, its allies and Romania and will not threaten the balance of power in the region.
Romania already has the AMRAAM in its arsenal, so it is expected that it will have no difficulty in introducing new versions of the missile into its arsenal. Romania bought the first AMRAAM type missiles ten years ago, when used F-16 aircraft were also acquired, which were subsequently modernized.
In addition to F-16 planes, Romania will use AMRAAM missiles in the future also on F-35 planes, as it plans to buy them.
Several countries use AMRAAM AIM-120 missiles, and C8 models have so far been ordered by South Korea, Japan, Saudi Arabia, India, Taiwan, the United Arab Emirates, Germany, Sweden, Denmark, the Netherlands, Norway, the Czech Republic, Poland, Hungary, Romania, Philippines, Israel and Turkey.
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