BRUSSELS: NATO announced on Friday that it would dispatches surveillance aircraft to Romania to strengthen its eastern flank and “watch Russian military operations.”
Since Russia invaded Ukraine, which borders NATO member Romania, the Western military alliance has increased its presence in the area.
According to NATO spokesperson Oana Lungescu, “Our AWACS (Airborne Warning and Control System) planes can identify aircraft hundreds of kilometers away, giving them a critical capability for NATO’s deterrent and defense posture.”
The aircraft, which are a part of a fleet of 14 NATO Boeing E-3A AWACS aircraft and are typically based in Geilenkirchen, western Germany, will arrive on Tuesday in Otopeni, close to Bucharest.
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NATO dispatches aircraft to Romania: How many AWACS aircraft will be sent on the patrols from Romania was not disclosed by NATO.
At a height of 9,000 metres, each AWACS jet can normally stay in the air for eight and a half hours (30,000 feet). With air-to-air refuelling, they may increase their flying time while in the air and monitor a region nearly the size of Poland.
Over 180 military soldiers will station themselves at an air base in Otopeni, Romania to support aircraft. NATO stated that the deployment would last for several weeks.
NATO has increased the number of fighter fighters, observation planes, and air tankers in eastern Europe since Russia invaded Ukraine in February of last year.
To monitor Russian aircraft flying close to NATO member states’ borders, the alliance has also begun routine patrols over eastern Europe and the Baltic Sea region.
NATO stations one of its eight multinational battlegroups in a deterrence-and-defense position in Romania.