Three aircraft of the Dutch Air Force landed last week at the F-16 Training Center in Fetești. The Dutch Minister of Defense, Kajsa Ollongren, also arrived in Romania on board one of them. The Dutch planes were accompanied in the Romanian airspace by two F-16 aircraft of the Romanian Air Forces, one of which carried the Romanian Minister of Defense, Angel Tîlvăr. The aircraft landed at the 86th Air Base in Fetești, where the two officials discussed the security situation in the Black Sea region. In the European Training Center there are now 8 Dutch F-16 aircraft used for the training of the Romanian pilots and of those of allied and partner countries.
On the other hand, the US Ambassador to Romania, Kathleen Kavalec, met with the American and Romanian soldiers stationed at the Mihail Kogălniceanu Air Base (southeast). Kavalec said that the presence of American soldiers at the Mihail Kogălniceanu Base is a symbol of the commitment of the United States to the security of Romania and the Alliance.
My visit is intended to support Romania’s defense modernization efforts, including here, at the Mihail Kogălniceanu base, that hosts a large contingent of American forces, the largest contingent in Romania, said Katleen Kavalec. Also, at the Mihail Kogălniceanu Base, five Eurofighter jets of the Spanish Air Force and a detachment of about 70 soldiers were deployed for aerial surveillance missions, after four of the six British fighter planes in our country were repositioned closer to the area of Iran’s recent drone and missile attack on Israel.
A group of soldiers from the 95th Air Base in Bacău (northeast) along with a French detachment participated in the VAMPIREX 24 exercise, held in the Secondary Combat Training Center Smârdan, Galati County (east). Also last week, in the Capu Midia range in Constanța county (south-east), a tactical exercise with live firing was held, in which the M-LIDS (Mobile-Low Integrated Defeat System), an anti-drone air system, was integrated into the military maneuvers carried out by the Romanian and US Armies. With the help of this system, the soldiers were able to identify, track and destroy the threats, using a combination of electronic warfare and high-caliber machine guns, according to a press release of the American Embassy in Romania. The deployment of the anti-drone air system in Romania is very important, M-LIDS being the newest anti-drone system of the US military that ensures successful countermeasures against enemy drones.
SEA SHIELD 24, the biggest exercise of the Romanian Naval Forces this year, came to an end on Sunday, after two weeks of actions carried out by over 2,200 soldiers, of whom almost 400 foreign soldiers, with 135 technical means. Planning and conducting combat actions, combating illegal actions at sea and river, control of maritime and river traffic and search and rescue at sea, in keeping with NATO standards and in the context of current security threats, were practiced. (EE)