By Chris Thatcher | August 16, 2017 Estimated reading time 3 minutes, 34 seconds.
Four CF-188 Hornet fighter jets will take to the skies of Romania beginning next month, part of a Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) air task force to augment NATO and Romanian aircraft patrolling that country’s airspace.
The Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) will send approximately 135 personnel to Constanta, a city on the shores of the Black Sea in southeastern Romania, for a four-month mission from September to December. Most will come from 409 Tactical Fighter Squadron at 4 Wing Cold Lake, Alta., supported by 2 Air Expeditionary Wing in Bagotville, Que., and 17 Wing Winnipeg, Man.
The air policing mission is part of Operation Reassurance, Canada’s contribution to NATO assurance and deterrence measures.
“Our military personnel are well-trained and committed to contribute to NATO enhanced air policing that ensures the integrity of Allies’ airspace,” said LGen Steve Bowes, commander of Canadian Joint Operations Command, in a statement. “They are proud to work on behalf of Canadians, projecting the best of what Canada has to offer.”
The RCAF first deployed an air task force (ATF) to Romania in April 2014 as part of NATO’s response to the Russian annexation of Crimea and military activity along the border of eastern Ukraine. The air component, comprised of six CF-188s from 425 Tactical Fighter Squadron at 3 Wing Bagotville, was part of a wider CAF operation that included a navy patrol frigate in the Mediterranean Sea and a platoon-size land force in Poland.
The air task force, which was based at the 71st Air Base in Campia Turzii, marked the first full deployment of the RCAF’s air expeditionary wing (AEW) concept, a flexible and scalable capability to rapidly deploy and support air force operations in any austere or semi-austere environment. In 2014, the AEW required little more than a week to have the fighter jets and air task force set up, supported and conducting missions with the Romanian Air Force.
The mission began as bilateral air-to-air training for the Hornet aircrews and Romania’s MiG21 Lancers, focused on air defense, air superiority and tactical support. But it grew into joint bilateral air-to-ground training with Joint Tactical Air Controllers from the Romanian army and special forces, and, in the last months, into multilateral training with NATO partners.
The exercise also offered the Romanian air force, which in October 2013 acquired 12 Lockheed Martin F-16 fighters from Portugal, an opportunity to work with and understand the networking requirements for Link 16 data exchange.
LCol Mark Hickey, who will command the air task force, said the ATF “is an agile and flexible organization that is always ready to employ air power and provide support wherever and whenever Canada requires.”
