Three German Eurofighters landed in Mihail Kogalniceanu air force base, Romania to strengthen eAP in Romania. Since mid-February, three German Eurofighters have been taking part in a long planned plug and fight initiative with their Italian counterparts. The German Minister of Defense has now added three extra aircraft and extended the period all the Eurofighters will remain in Romania until at least the end of March.
The German contribution to the enhanced Air Policing is a strong sign of the rock solid cohesion of the Alliance
"The German contribution to the enhanced Air Policing is a strong sign of the rock solid cohesion of the Alliance", said Major General Jörg Lebert, Chief of Staff Allied Air Command. "This additional participation is another piece of the overall picture that ensures NATO is ready to secure the skies", he added.
Additional German Eurofighters arrived to execute enhanced Air Policing (eAP) alongside Romanian, Spanish and US Allies on February 24. Photo courtesy of German Air Force.
Enhanced Air Policing is a collective defence mission to protect and secure the integrity of NATO's airspace. The German contingent is from the Tactical Air Force Wing 74, based in Neuburg. They have integrated quickly with the Italian contingent already based at Mihail Kogalniceanu air force base and will assist their multi-role combat aircraft with the Quick Reaction Alert (QRA) missions.
Since early December, under the lead of the 36th Wing, the Italian Eurofighters 2000 have been securing Allied airspace, working closely with their Romanian Air Force hosts. The Italian Air force detachment has been scrambled multiple times during their deployment to safeguard Alliance skies. Besides this close work together in missions, the Italians and Germans will practice communications and standardize procedures so they can operate seamlessly together in the future.