Six Royal Air Force (RAF) Eurofighter Typhoon aircraft landed at Romania’s Mihail Kog?lniceanu Air Base on March 25, 2024 in support of NATO’s enhanced Air Policing (eAP) mission. For the next four months the RAF fighter jets from RAF Lossiemouth in Scotland, and roughly 200 personnel, will carry out enhanced air policing missions under NATO command alongside the Romanian Air Force. The deployment of the multi-role combat aircraft to Mihail Kogalniceanu Air Force Base will assist with the Quick Reaction Alert (QRA) missions until August 2024, to respond to current security challenges.
“This will be the RAF’s fifth eAP rotation in Romania, having completed the first iteration in 2014. The missions contribute to the development of the reaction and deterrence capacity and is a strong sign of the Alliance’s cohesion. Ensuring NATO is ready to secure the skies 24/7,” said Wing Commander Karl Bird, Commanding Officer of 140 Expeditionary Air Wing.
The Eurofighter Typhoon is a European multinational twin-engine, supersonic, canard delta wing, multirole fighter. The Typhoon was designed originally as an air-superiority fighter and is manufactured by a consortium of Airbus, BAE Systems and Leonardo that conducts the majority of the project through a joint holding company, Eurofighter Jagdflugzeug GmbH. The NATO Eurofighter and Tornado Management Agency, representing the UK, Germany, Italy and Spain, manages the project and is the prime customer. The Eurofighter Typhoon is a highly agile aircraft, designed to be an effective dogfighter in combat. The Royal Air Force has 137 aircraft, with 102 in service.
Enhanced Air Policing is part of NATO’s Assurance Measures introduced in 2014, after Russia’s illegal and illegitimate annexation of the Crimean peninsula. The Alliance implemented these Assurance Measures with the goal to demonstrate the collective resolve of Allies, demonstrate the defensive nature of NATO and deter Russia from aggression or the threat of aggression against NATO Allies. They are flexible and scalable in response to fluctuations in the security situation facing the Alliance and send a strong, unambiguous message to the public. Enhanced Air Policing deployments are planned in advance and rotate between NATO Allied Air Forces.
