Romania buys 18 Dutch F-16 fighter jets for €1

Romania has received 18 Dutch F-16 fighter jets for the "symbolic price" of one euro, caretaker Defense State Secretary Gijs Tuinman announced Monday. The aircraft are already in Romania and are stationed at the European F-16 Training Center (EFTC), Europe’s only F-16 training center, which was established two years ago.

In exchange for the “symbolically priced” aircraft, Romania has agreed to make half of the EFTC’s training capacity available for Ukrainian pilots over the next eight years. So, the fighter jets will be used to train both Romanian and Ukrainian pilots.

The aircraft, spare parts, and simulators are valued at 65 million euros, Tuinman wrote in a letter to the Tweede Kamer.

The Netherlands has also donated 24 F-16s to the government in Kyiv as part of its military support for Ukraine.

This action follows a previously announced plan by the Netherlands to transfer the fighter jets to Romania.