Royal Canadian Air Force CF-188 fighter aircraft taxiing at Mihail Kogalniceanu Air Base, Romania on August 20. From September on they are replacing Royal Air Force Typhoons conducting NATO enhanced Air Policing from here. Photo Jimmy Wise, Royal Air Force, MOD Crown Copyright 2017
21 AUG 2017
CONSTANTA, Romania – Four Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) CF-188 fighter aircraft arrived at Mihail Kogalniceanu Air Base, Romania on August 20 for a four-month deployment under NATO’s enhanced Air Policing mission taking over responsibility from the Royal Air Force.
Together with their Romanian colleagues flying MiG-21s, Canadian pilots will secure the skies over Romania, sending a solid signal of
NATO’s resolve, commitment and solidarity. The Canadian detachment consists of 135 personnel drawn from across the Canadian Armed Forces.
“An Air Task Force is an agile and flexible organization that is always ready to employ air power and provide support wherever and whenever Canada requires. Our Air Task Force in Romania is proud to participate in the cooperative defence activities that support NATO’s enhanced Air Policing,” said Lieutenant-Colonel Mark Hickey, commander of the detachment.
“The RCAF has ample experience deploying under
NATO Air Policing missions. It deployed CF-188 jets to the Baltic States and Iceland in support of the long-standing routine NATO mission,” he added.
Until the end of the year jets from both air forces will conduct sorties in concert with one another. For the next days, the Canadian F-18s are scheduled to conduct familiarization flights before starting their mission.
Source: NATO
By
L. J. De Rothschild
Senior Editor
Related
Discover more from #News247WorldPress
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
