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Certification ceremony of Turkish Air Force detachment, at 86th Lieutenant Aviator Gheorghe Mociornita Airbase
The certification ceremony of the Turkish Air Force detachment that arrived in Romania to carry out Reinforced Air Police missions under NATO command took place on Tuesday in the 86th Air Base "Lieutenant Aviator Gheorghe Mociornita," the Ministry of National Defense (MApN) informed.
According to a press release from MApN sent on Tuesday, the State Secretary for Defense Policy, Planning and International Relations, Simona Cojocaru, and the Chief of the Defense Staff, General Vlad Gheorghita, were present at the event.
The activity took place in the presence of the ambassador of the Republic of Turkey in Bucharest, Ozgur Kivanc Altan, the commander of the Torrejon Multinational Air Operations Center, lieutenant general Juan Pablo Sanchez De Lara, the commander of the Turkish Air Force, general Ziya Cemal Kadioglu, and the deputy head of state Major of the Air Force, Major General Leonard-Gabriel Baraboi, the quoted source mentions.
"This NATO Enhanced Air Police mission, with the participation, for the first time, of the Air Force of the Republic of Turkey, is of vital importance for the deterrence and defense posture, for the protection of allied airspace and the maintenance of the security and stability of our region. The Republic of Turkey is a strategic partner and ally of Romania. We appreciate Ankara's commitment and contribution to collective and regional security, in the framework of multinational allied projects in Romania and beyond," said State Secretary Simona Cojocaru during the ceremony, as quoted in the press release.
The Chief of the Defense Staff, General Gheorghita Vlad, recalled that, this year, allied solidarity for the strengthening of the Air Police service of the Romanian Air Force materialized through the participation in the surveillance and air defense missions of some American, French, German, Italian, Spanish detachments, and now, the Turkish detachment.
"Complementary to the core mission of protecting airspace, an important benefit is to increase the interoperability of national air capabilities with similar NATO capabilities. I thank our Turkish allies for their contribution in this area as well. In the Black Sea region, the expansion of military cooperation between the Romanian and Turkish armed forces is, in the allied context, an argument of common determination for stability and peace," explained General Gheorghita Vlad, according to the press release.
MApN specifies that the detachment from Turkey, consisting of approximately 80 military personnel (pilots and technical personnel) and four F-16 aircraft, will perform, together with military personnel and aircraft of the Romanian Air Force, missions of Enhanced Air Policing under NATO command.
The joint air police missions contribute to the development of reaction and deterrence capacity, as well as to the consolidation of interoperability between the Romanian and Turkish Air Force, the ministry says.