Romania sees initial contract to buy F-35 fighter jets, defence ministry says

BUCHAREST (Reuters) - Romania expects to sign a government-to-government agreement with the United States to purchase latest-generation F-35 fighter jets as early as this fall, the defence ministry said on Tuesday.

The European Union and NATO member said in September it planned to buy 32 F-35s from U.S. manufacturer Lockheed Martin for $6.5 billion.

The outline deal includes logistics and training services, flight simulators and ammunition, along with the jets.

Defence Minister Angel Tilvar has said the first planes would not be delivered before 2030.

In the meantime, Romania has bought 32 second-hand F-16 fighter jets from Norway, to add to 17 acquired from Portugal since 2016.

Romania, a NATO member since 2004, shares a 650-km (400-mile) border with Ukraine and has had Russian drone fragments stray into its territory repeatedly as Moscow attacks Ukrainian ports just across the Danube River border.

In June, Romania said it would donate a Patriot system to Ukraine, part of a delivery of five such systems and other strategic air defence units pledged by NATO states to Kyiv as it battles Russia's 28-month-old invasion.

(Reporting by Luiza Ilie; Editing by Tomasz Janowski)