Operation Reassurance, RCAF Hornets support NATO enhanced Air Policing in Romania
 |
| RCAF CF-188 Hornets fly alongside RoAF C-27J transport aircraft during a media event in Romania. Canada's fighters are currently involved in the NATO Air Policing mission in Romania to secure airspace over the Black Sea. |
For one more year the Canadian Hornets, along with Romanian Fishbeds, cooperated over the skies of Romania in safeguarding the airspace over Black Sea under the Operation Reassurance, which is Canada’s contribution to NATO Air Policing duties. George Karavantos reports:
NATO is responsible in ensuring integrity, safety and security of its airspace. For member nations that do not have the necessary air capabilities, agreements exist to ensure a single standard of security across European NATO airspace. The airspace over Europe sees an average of about 30,000 air movements per day, making it one of the busiest airspaces in the world. Any aircraft flying inside or approaching European NATO airspace that are unidentified, either through loss or intentional omission of communication with Air Traffic Control creates an unsafe environment, which could lead to an air incident.
NATO ensures the integrity, safety and security of its airspace by maintaining a 24/7/365 Air Policing mission, overseen by Allied Air Command. As part of these assurance measures, NATO’s Air Policing mission is enhanced across two implementation areas. NATO members are authorized and encouraged to provide additional assets to the Alliance supplementing existing Baltic Air Policing capabilities in the northern implementation area and, in parallel, augmenting national Air Policing capabilities in the southern implementation area.
Since 2014, Baltic Air Policing, based at Siauliai, Lithuania have been augmented by a second detachment, based at Ämari, Estonia. In the South, Romania’s and Bulgaria’s national Air Policing capabilities are and have been temporarily augmented by detachments from various Allied Air Forces. Whilst these nations are fully capable of conducting Air Policing operations on their own, aircraft and pilots of augmenting detachments can also be scrambled to conduct intercepts.
The Combined Air Operations Centre Torrejón is located at Torrejón Air Force Base, northeast of Madrid, Spain. Its primary mission is to plan, direct, coordinate, monitor, analyse and report on the operations of Air Policing means assigned to it in peace time. The unit’s area of responsibility comprises European NATO airspace south of the Alps. Hence Combined Air Operations Centre Torrejón is responsible for some of NATO’s special Air Policing arrangements, such as Air Policing over Romania, Air Policing over Slovenia and Air Policing over Montenegro.
Operation Reassurance was once again Canada’s contribution to the great needs of NATO in Policing many airspaces over Europe in which specific Air Arms cannot cover on their own. For its sixth time the CAF has deployed an Air Task Force to Romania. CAF has been based at Mihail Kogalniceanu Air Base, near the Black Sea Coast in Romania to support the Romanian Air Force’s own Quick Reaction Alert to conduct the mission. Aproximately 150 CAF personnel and 6 CF-188 Hornets are participating in a three month deployment, running from September 1st until November 30, 2021. During this deployment, the CF-188 Hornets were augmenting the air policing capabilities of the Romanian Air Force.
The First deployment was at Campia Turzii in 2014, then at Mihail Kogalniceanu Air Base in Constanta County in 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, and now 2021.
Lieutenant Colonel Mask, Commander of the Air Task Force Romania said: "We are happy to return to Romania once again, collaborating with our allies in the Romanian Air Force, as well as our other NATO partners in the region." He also added: "It's a huge task and challenge for an Air Arm which is so far away from Europe to mobilize such a force and come here to fly and safeguard. This clearly demonstrates the versatility and inherent team work of the CAF. It is also a huge opportunity, for us, the pilots, to fly and guard airspaces with other allies that we have never trained before”.
NATO is responsible in ensuring integrity, safety and security of its airspace. For member nations that do not have the necessary air capabilities, agreements exist to ensure a single standard of security across European NATO airspace. The airspace over Europe sees an average of about 30,000 air movements per day, making it one of the busiest airspaces in the world. Any aircraft flying inside or approaching European NATO airspace that are unidentified, either through loss or intentional omission of communication with Air Traffic Control creates an unsafe environment, which could lead to an air incident.
NATO ensures the integrity, safety and security of its airspace by maintaining a 24/7/365 Air Policing mission, overseen by Allied Air Command. As part of these assurance measures, NATO’s Air Policing mission is enhanced across two implementation areas. NATO members are authorized and encouraged to provide additional assets to the Alliance supplementing existing Baltic Air Policing capabilities in the northern implementation area and, in parallel, augmenting national Air Policing capabilities in the southern implementation area.
Since 2014, Baltic Air Policing, based at Siauliai, Lithuania have been augmented by a second detachment, based at Ämari, Estonia. In the South, Romania’s and Bulgaria’s national Air Policing capabilities are and have been temporarily augmented by detachments from various Allied Air Forces. Whilst these nations are fully capable of conducting Air Policing operations on their own, aircraft and pilots of augmenting detachments can also be scrambled to conduct intercepts.
The Combined Air Operations Centre Torrejón is located at Torrejón Air Force Base, northeast of Madrid, Spain. Its primary mission is to plan, direct, coordinate, monitor, analyse and report on the operations of Air Policing means assigned to it in peace time. The unit’s area of responsibility comprises European NATO airspace south of the Alps. Hence Combined Air Operations Centre Torrejón is responsible for some of NATO’s special Air Policing arrangements, such as Air Policing over Romania, Air Policing over Slovenia and Air Policing over Montenegro.
Operation Reassurance was once again Canada’s contribution to the great needs of NATO in Policing many airspaces over Europe in which specific Air Arms cannot cover on their own. For its sixth time the CAF has deployed an Air Task Force to Romania. CAF has been based at Mihail Kogalniceanu Air Base, near the Black Sea Coast in Romania to support the Romanian Air Force’s own Quick Reaction Alert to conduct the mission. Aproximately 150 CAF personnel and 6 CF-188 Hornets are participating in a three month deployment, running from September 1st until November 30, 2021. During this deployment, the CF-188 Hornets were augmenting the air policing capabilities of the Romanian Air Force.
The First deployment was at Campia Turzii in 2014, then at Mihail Kogalniceanu Air Base in Constanta County in 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, and now 2021.
Lieutenant Colonel Mask, Commander of the Air Task Force Romania said: "We are happy to return to Romania once again, collaborating with our allies in the Romanian Air Force, as well as our other NATO partners in the region." He also added: "It's a huge task and challenge for an Air Arm which is so far away from Europe to mobilize such a force and come here to fly and safeguard. This clearly demonstrates the versatility and inherent team work of the CAF. It is also a huge opportunity, for us, the pilots, to fly and guard airspaces with other allies that we have never trained before”.
Text and Pics: George Karavantos
No comments
All comments related to the contents of our articles are welcome. It is not allowed to post promotional messages, links to external sites, or references to activities not related to this blog.