Premium
The NATO ceremony to certify the fourth detachment of the Royal Canadian Air Force, that has arrived in Romania in view of executing the Enhanced Air Police service, took place on Thursday, at the Mihail Kogalniceanu 57th Air Base.
The detachment of the Royal Canadian Air Force will execute, according to the Ministry of National Defence, together with F-16 Fighting Falcon and MiG-21 LanceR aircraft and servicemen from the Romanian Air Forces, missions of Enhanced Air Policing (eAP) under NATO command, in the next four months.
The Canadian detachment is formed by 145 servicemen - pilots and technical staff -, with six CF-188 Hornet aircraft.
The head of the Romanian Defence General Staff, Lieutenant General Daniel Petrescu, present at the ceremony, emphasized that "the air policing mission is a fundamental component of the way in which NATO offers security to member-states."
"These missions represent collective defence in peacetime missions, which protect the air integrity of member-states. We are vigilant 24 hours a day, prepared and committed in protecting the Euro-Atlantic space. Allow me to hail, once more, the effort and commitment of Canada towards the security of our region and towards the general security of the Alliance," said Petrescu.
The commander of the Canadian detachment, deployed for air police missions, Lieutenant Colonel David McLeod, said the pilots under his command will capitalize any opportunity they have to prove the knowledge they have.
I know our pilots will take any opportunity to show the knowledge, and in equal measure, to learn from the allies. COVID-19 did not diminish the enthusiasm of this team I lead and I know their professionalism and knowledge will be evident during this mission, McLeod said.
According to the MApN, this is the fourth rotation at the Mihail Kogalniceanu Air Base of the Royal Canadian Air Force, after those completed in 2017, 2018 and 2019. The Canadian servicemen had one other mission to Romania, in Campia Turzii, in 2014.
The joint air police missions contribute to the development of reaction and discouragement capacity, as well as to consolidating interoperability between the Romanian Armed Forces and the Canadian Armed Forces.
The deployment of the CF-188 Hornet planes to Romania is part of the implementation of the Action Plan for ensuring NATO operational capacity on the eastern flank of the Alliance, both in the north and the south areas and demonstrates the NATO unity and determination as a response to the challenges of the security environment.
