Turkish jets complete NATO mission in Romania

By Diyar Guldogan

ANKARA (AA) - Türkiye participated in NATO's enhanced air policing mission in Romania to safeguard the eastern flank of NATO airspace.

In December, four Turkish F-16 fighter jets and 80 personnel arrived at Romania's Fetesti Air Base to take part in the mission, which officially ended on Wednesday.

Turkish Ambassador to Romania Ozgur Kivanc Altan, Turkish Air Force Maj. Gen. Kemal Turan, Romanian Ministry of Defense Maj. Gen. Dragos Iacob participated in the ceremony. The Romanian Defense Ministry presented a medal to Turkish personnel, the Turkish National Defense Ministry said in a statement.

Since 2014, Romania has hosted NATO-enhanced air policing of fighter detachments from eight allies, including Türkiye, at its air bases near the Black Sea coast.

Air policing is a peacetime mission that aims to preserve the security of alliance airspace. It is a collective task and involves the continuous presence of fighter aircraft and crews, which are ready to react quickly to possible airspace violations, according to NATO.

As part of a broad set of assurance measures introduced following Russia’s illegal annexation of Ukraine’s Crimea region in 2014, allies are providing additional assets to enhance air policing along NATO’s eastern borders, it said.