Romania: Oversight Department To Investigate Upgrading of MiG 21-Lancers

Romania: Oversight Department To Investigate Upgrading of MiG 21-Lancers

Bucharest Mediafax in English 0615 GMT 18 Oct 02

Bucharest, Oct 17 (MEDIAFAX) — Prime Minister’s Oversight Department will investigate how the upgrade of aircraft MIG 21 lancer has been done at Aerostar Bacau Company, Government Spokesman Claudiu Lucaci told MEDIAFAX on Thursday. Lucaci said this decision was made after the latest incident involving a Lancer jet fighter that occurred on October 9 2002 near Bacau, when a bomb fell from the jet, during a training flight. The bomb was lost immediately after takeoff and fell nearly 450-metter far from the end of the runway, a gas station, without exploding. Aerostar Bacau has upgraded 100 MIG 21 jet fighters in the last couple of years, in collaboration with Israeli firm Elbit.

[Description of Source: Bucharest Mediafax in English — privately owned press agency]