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Germany to send fighter jets to Romania to patrol NATO flank
Germany will send four Eurofighter fighter planes to Romania to support NATO’s air policing mission at the end of November, according to Reuters, citing a security source. The mission comes just weeks after Russia launched systematic attacks on Ukrainian ports along the Danube. According to DPA, also citing a security source, this deployment of Eurofighter planes is at Romania’s request.
The first of nearly 80 German soldiers who will be stationed at a military base near Constanta will depart for Romania on Thursday. The attacks, which occurred just a few hundred meters from the Romanian border, and the drone fragments discovered in Romania have increased security risks for the military alliance, whose members have a commitment to mutual defense.
In September, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg referred to Russian strikes near the Ukrainian border with Romania as “destabilizing,” although there were no indications that Russia intended to target a member state of the North Atlantic Alliance. The German Air Force has supported NATO’s air policing mission in Romania in the past. The North Atlantic Alliance has strengthened its military presence along the eastern flank following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022.