Romania. Eastern Flank: Rotation of forces of the French detachment within the NATO Battle Group hosted by Romania
A roundup of military news
Lăcrămioara Simion, 25.09.2024, 14:00
The Defense ministers from the countries participating in the B9 Initiative met last week in Bucharest, to discuss allied measures to strengthen the deterrence and defense posture. Regarding the security situation in the Black Sea region and NATO’s Eastern Flank, the Romanian Defense Minister, Angel Tîlvăr, emphasized that the Russian Federation remained the most important threat to the security of the Allies. The B9 format (Bucharest 9) was launched in 2015 by Romania and Poland as a platform for dialogue and cooperation between NATO’s eastern allies. The initiative also includes Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Slovakia and Hungary. Meetings in this format are held periodically, at the level of heads of state, foreign and defense ministers.
Rotation of the forces of the French detachment within the NATO Battle Group hosted by Romania: Colonel Jean Michelin took over the command of the group from his compatriot, Colonel Louis-Marie Levacher, during a ceremony held on September 17 in the Cincu National Training Center (central Romania). The French troops in Romania thus reach the 9th rotation of the Aigle mission, carried out to strengthen the allied deterrence posture in the region. The Allied Battle Group located on the territory of Romania also includes forces from the armies of Belgium and Luxembourg, with a total of one thousand soldiers.
The MAMBA system has recently participated in an air defense exercise planned by NATO’s Allied Air Command. Several aircraft participated, including Romanian, Greek and Turkish F-16s and a Spanish F-18, with the aim of testing their interoperability in space. The medium-range MAMBA surface-to-air defense system deployed in Romania was able to demonstrate its expertise in integrated air defense, working to defend its area of responsibility with air defense fighters from several countries.
The Romanian soldiers deployed within the Tactical Reserve Battalion of the KFOR mission under the auspices of NATO are being trained, together with their Hungarian and Swiss colleagues, in scenario-based exercises for crowd and riots control and for the protection of the force of the Swiss units, as part of their joint training at Camp Novo-Selo, in Kosovo. These periodic activities are essential to guarantee the highest operational standards of KFOR and the readiness to face all possible security scenarios. KFOR continues to implement its mandate based on UN Security Council Resolution 1244 of 1999 to contribute to a secure environment for all individuals and communities living in Kosovo and to ensuring the freedom of movement at all times.
We also inform you that the Romanian Naval Forces are participating with ‘Mine sweeper 30’ in the second activation of the Task Force to combat sea mines in the Black Sea. The naval group also includes a minesweeper and a logistic support ship, both from Turkey, and a minesweeper of the Bulgarian Naval Forces. The mission will run until the end of this month, an interval during which the multinational exercise NUSRET 24 will also take place. (Constantin Herțanu, LS)
