BUCHAREST, April 15 NATO member Romania has grounded its remaining fleet of military MiG 21 LanceR jets as of Friday given their “considerably high accident rate”, and will speed up a planned purchase of second-hand F-16s from Norway, the defence ministry said.

The move was unrelated to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which shares a 650-kilometre (400 mile) border with Romania.

Romania will continue to fly its small fleet of F-16 fighter jets acquired from Portugal, the ministry said, while allied states also have jets deployed to the country for enhanced air policing missions as part of NATO efforts to boost its eastern flank, especially after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Photo USAF