The virtual press tour took the journalists to the operation providing them with an opportunity to see what NATO does to deliver collective defence in peacetime and to ask the two NATO officers from Romania and Canada about their mission.
The Romanian Air executes the full spectrum of missions and cooperates with all Allies
Romania is an Ally who has its own fighter jets to execute the Air Policing mission. Colonel Daniel Moise, Commander of the MiG-21 Detachment deployed at Mihail Kogalniceau Air Base near Constanța on the Black Sea gave an overview of the Romanian Air Force capabilities and how they support NATO Air Policing.
"The Romanian Air Force operates two fighter types – the MiG-21 and the F-16 to defend our airspace under national arrangements and in cooperation with Combined Air Operation Centre at Torrejón, Spain, in a NATO context,” he said. “We conduct the full spectrum of missions and cooperate with all Allies, especially with neighbouring Bulgaria and deployed fighter detachments,” he added.
Also currently based at Mihail Kogalniceanu is Lieutenant Colonel David McLeod’s CF-188 detachment. The Royal Canadian Air Force deployed here in September to fly Air Policing missions alongside the Romanian
Air Force under the Alliance’s assurance measures providing an enhanced Air Policing capability. With this additional capability, NATO has demonstrated its collective resolve to deterrence and defence specifically to the Allies on the eastern flank of the Alliance.
Conducting these NATO assurance measures involves a lot of training with the Romanian Air Force and other Allies in the region
“We are conducting these assurances measures which involves a lot of training with the Romanian Air Force and we’ve also done some training with the Bulgarian Air Force and other Allies in the region,” said Lieutenant Colonel McLeod. “For the fifth time Canada has deployed an Air Task Force and we are here helping to make Central and Eastern Europe more secure and stable,” he concluded.
NATO Air Policing is one way the Alliance provides collective security to its members. All Allies contribute this 24/7 enduring peacetime mission which safeguards NATO airspace and ensures the territorial integrity of the airspace.