refurbishing, maintenance and pilot training which would run for two years. However, by 2012 the maintenance costs for the used fighters were found to be too high so attention turned to new jet trainers that could be converted into jet fighters. The requirements were listed as "supersonic ability, multifunction displays and On Board Oxygen Generation System." A DND spokesman has said that aircraft from France, the United Kingdom, Italy, and South Korea were considered. It was reported that the DND would be acquiring multi-role fighters by 2018. In response to the Philippine desire for multi-role fighters, the United States offered variants of the General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon. The US State Department approved the sale of 10 F-16C Block 70/72 and two F-16D Block 70/72 jets to the Philippines on 24 June 2021. Ukraine Ukraine has expressed interest in the F-16. Cancelled orders and failed bids Australia The F-16A and F-16C were among the designs considered by the Royal Australian Air Force to replace its Dassault Mirage III fighters in the late 1970s and early 1980s. After the initial evaluation processes were concluded, the RAAF was left with a choice between the F-16C and F/A-18 Hornet, both of which met its technical requirements. While the F-16C was cheaper than the F/A-18A, the RAAF decided that the Hornet was more technologically mature, easier to maintain during operational deployments, and likely to have a much lower attrition rate. Accordingly, the Australian Government chose to order 75 F/A-18s in October 1981. Brazil Brazil was evaluating the F-16BR with the intent to manufacture it in a joint-venture with Lockheed Martin. The Dassault Rafale, Boeing F/A-18 Super Hornet, and the Saab Gripen NG were eventually shortlisted, but not the F-16BR. In the end, the JAS-39 Gripen E was chosen. Croatia In July 2017, the Croatian Ministry of Defence announced it had restarted the Croatian Air Force MiG-21 replacement procurement program, and issued a request for proposals for up to 12 aircraft to five countries: Greece, Israel and the United States for the General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon, Sweden for the Saab JAS 39 Gripen, and South Korea for the KAI T-50 Golden Eagle. In October 2017, the Ministry announced it had received four letters of intent for up to 18 aircraft from the United States, Israel and Greece, offering various F-16 variants, as well as Sweden offering an unknown Saab JAS 39 Gripen variant. South