mission with two MiG-21 LanceR squadrons
at Baza 71 Aeriană (71st Air Base) near
Câmpia Turzii and Baza 86 Aeriană
at Borcea-Fetești. LanceRs from the
Escadrila 861 Aviație Luptă (861st Fighter
Squadron) are currently deployed at Mihail
Kogălniceanu while improvements are
made at Borcea-Fetești to accommodate
Romania’s recently acquired F-16s.
Back in 2007, Romanian MiGs took on the
Baltic Air Policing mission for four months
at Šiauliai air base in Lithuania, and the FAR
has conducted the QRA mission under NATO
command from CAOC Torrejón since joining
the alliance in 2004. At any given time, each
squadron has two LanceRs ready for QRA.
“Romania’s well trained and professional
air force is capable of conducting its
own air policing [but] the augmentation
efficiently absorbs any burden caused by
an increased requirement for A-scrambles,”
the AIRCOM spokesperson explained.
“All decisions as to whether a QRA will
be launched – from which alert base and
how many assets are required – are the
responsibility of the CAOC at Torrejón and
depend on the tactical situation. All QRA
aircraft are on 24/7 standby and ready
to launch upon the CAOC’s orders.”
An official from CAOC Torrejón added:
“The Romanian Air Force has so far ensured
execution of NATO air policing to a flawless
standard. Integrated into CAOC Torrejón’s
chain of command, they’ve maintained the
same level and standard... that NATO Allied
Air Command provides to all NATO allies.”
CAOC Torrejón is responsible for NATO’sAir Policing Area (APA) South, which covers
all NATO allies south of the Alps, stretching
from the Azores to eastern Turkey and from
central France to the southern tip of Italy.
Meanwhile CAOC Uedem is responsible for
APA North. The only difference between the
two CAOCs is the allies they work with and
the fighters provided to them for air policing.
“The additional four [RAF] Typhoons
at Mihail Kogălniceanu mean additional
assets can be used to maintain the NATO
air policing capability, and the CAOC now
has greater flexibility in assigning assets
to arising incidents in Romanian airspace,”
the CAOC Torrejón official added.
“For both allies it offers an excellent
opportunity to work and train together.
Like the Romanian MiG-21 jets, the RAF
Typhoons will be launched by the CAOC
to respond to air incidents: for example,
a non-NATO aircraft flying close to NATO
airspace and not having filed a flight
plan, not in contact with the civilian
ATC and not squawking an IFF code.”
CAOC personnel certified the RAF
Typhoon detachment during a two-day
period at the end of April, briefing and
debriefing the pilots and checking their
tactics, techniques and procedures.
“The RAF is here to enhance and augment
the air policing capability we already have,”
said Lt Col Silviu Marincas, a Romanian Air
Force pilot. “For us, nothing has changed;
we’re performing our mission as before.
“The decision-makers in Torrejón now
have a bigger resource pool in the area
and they decide what resources to deploy
in response to a particular threat. The
assumption is that in case national resources
are saturated, additional resources are at
hand to augment the response. No specific
priority is given to us or the RAF Typhoons.”
Commenting on the RAF’s first eAP
deployment, Wg Cdr Andrew Coe, the
135 EAW’s CO, said: “The QRA mission
we’re doing here doesn’t differ from
what we’re doing at home. We’re just
looking after the integrity of the NATO
airspace but in a different part of NATO.
“In the Baltic we flew out of [Ämari
air base in] Estonia, where they have a
smaller air force, while here you have a
capable air force with the MiG-21s and
with the new F-16s as well. There’s a
difference straightaway as we’re operating
with an air force that has more jets.”
Sqn Ldr Paul Hanson echoed the CO’s
comments: “What the MiGs do here is no
different to what we do back at home, and
indeed what we’re doing while augmenting
over here. To us, QRA missions are business
as usual wherever we are in the world.
“Meeting other people that do it in the
same way shows how well the NATO
tactics and commonality work.”Training opportunities
While the Typhoons’ primary mission in
Romania is QRA under NATO command,
pilots from both air arms are making the
most of the RAF deployment. Regular
training continues for both squadrons,
but now there are opportunities to
learn from each other and train forhttp://www.airforcesmonthly.com #354 SEPTEMBER 2017 // 69
At the time of AFM’s visit to Mihail Kogălniceanu
the four No 3 (Fighter) Squadron Typhoon
FGR4s were ZJ921/921, ZJ923/923, ZJ928/928 and
ZJ939/939. These deployed from RAF Coningsby
using ‘Ascot’ callsigns.