Auf wiedersehenn Luftwaffe, welcome to the Royal Air Force!
After seven months deployed at Mihail Kogălniceanu Air Base, during which they logged over 600 flight hours and more than 35 real interception missions, the Luftwaffe is handing over the mission to the British Royal Air Force.
Agenția Media a Armatei, 22.04.2026, 14:00
A cold wind and bursts of rain sweep across the runways of the 86th Air Base “Lieutenant Dumitru Mociorniță” in Borcea, located in the middle of Romania’s Bărăgan Plain (southeast). The noise of engines, aircraft taking off, and an alarm echoing through the loudspeakers across the entire base: Alpha Scramble! Alpha Scramble! It is just one of the many enhanced Air Policing missions carried out from this airfield by both the Romanian Air Force and the Alliance, aimed at countering the threat of Russian drones near the border with Ukraine.
On a concrete platform, two aircraft—an F‑16 Fighting Falcon of the Romanian Air Force and a Eurofighter of the British Royal Air Force—together with flags whipping in the sharp early‑spring wind, form the backdrop for the ceremony marking the handover of command and of NATO’s enhanced Air Policing mission in Romania.
After seven months deployed at Mihail Kogălniceanu Air Base, during which they logged over 600 flight hours and more than 35 real interception missions, the Luftwaffe is handing over the mission to the British Royal Air Force. Five Eurofighter Typhoon aircraft from No. 3 (Fighter) Squadron at RAF Coningsby, along with a detachment from the 121 Expeditionary Air Wing consisting of around 200 personnel, will defend the skies of Romania and NATO for the next four months.
Giles Portman, the United Kingdom’s Ambassador to Romania, is also present at the ceremony. I am very proud that the Royal Air Force is once again in Romania, he said. This is the second time it has happened since I have been ambassador, and we are here again for the next four months, the British offieical went on to say. We are very grateful both to our Romanian hosts for the excellent work they have done in preparing the 86th Air Base at Borcea for the Royal Air Force, and to our German partners from whom we are taking over, he concluded.
No one, especially from Romania in the areas bordering Ukraine on the Danube, where the noise of Russian drones and explosions can be heard and seen almost every night, doubts the importance of such a mission. For those back home in the UK or Romania who are not yet aware of the importance of such a mission, Ambassador Portman has a clear message: especially in these days, the presence of the British Royal Force on NATO’s eastern flank is incredibly important, both for the UK and for the Alliance. “Unfortunately, this is an insecure region. We have threats from Russia right across the border, in Ukraine. Russia is provoking with its illegal war in Ukraine, and we must defend and deter. And Romania’s security is the security of the UK. We are all allies in NATO and we defend not only the eastern flank, not only the territory of Romania, but we defend all the people, our values, our way of life. And we are together in defending them against Russian aggression,” Ambassador Portman said.
A change from the previous British rotation at the 57th Air Base in Mihail Kogălniceanu two years ago is that this time they have chosen the base at Borcea. Lieutenant Colonel Daryl Wicks‑Randy, commander of the 121 Expeditionary Air Wing, explained that one of NATO’s key concepts is the ability to employ agile combat operations. So being able to be interoperable with the Romanian Air Force is an excellent opportunity for us, he said. Our mission is very clear: to protect NATO airspace, Romanian airspace, and to deter any aggression, Lieutenant Colonel Daryl Wicks‑Randy also said. (EE)
