Finnish Air Force ready to start NATO Air Policing in Romania

The Finnish fighter detachment deployed to Romania has passed a NATO evaluation and has been declared ready to start doing Quick Reaction Alert duty at Mihail Kogălniceanu Air Base.

The Finnish Air Force will participate in NATO’s collective peacetime missions in Romania in June-July 2024 with a detachment of seven F/A-18 Hornet fighter jets and less than 100 airmen. The objective of the Air Force’s first major NATO deployment is to enhance the air defence of Romania, Bulgaria, and NATO as a whole through presence and readiness, and contribute to the surveillance and protection of NATO airspace. 

During the first week of June, the Allied Air Command (AIRCOM) conducted a two-part evaluation at Mihail Kogălniceanu Air Base to verify the capability of the Finnish detachment to start doing Quick Reaction Alert duty of the NATO Air Policing mission. A general evaluation was conducted by the tactical evaluation (TACEVAL) team from AIRCOM HQ in Ramstein, Germany. The TACEVAL team checked the Finnish detachment’s different branches’ knowledge of NATO tactics, techniques and procedures. The second part of the evaluation consisted of a mission-specific assessment by the Combined Air Operations Centre Torrejón, verifying the readiness of the Finnish detachment to assume Quick Reaction Alert duty in Romania. 

‒ The evaluation assessed in practice whether the detachment can operate in accordance with NATO tactics, techniques and procedures. At the same time, the evaluation verified the functionality and interoperability of command and control systems to enable the QRA jets to be scrambled when necessary. We received good feedback from the evaluation, and we are now ready to start doing Quick Reaction Alert duty under the direction of NATO's military command structure, says Lieutenant Colonel Rami Lindström, commander of the Finnish detachment.

Close cooperation with the Royal Air Force

Finnish F/A-18 Hornet fighter jets will be on QRA duty at Mihail Kogălniceanu Air Base on alternate weeks with the Royal Air Force’s Typhoon jets. The Romanian Air Force’s F-16 fighter jets are based at Fetești Air Base, and do QRA duty from there. The presence of Finnish fighter jets in Romania is part of the broader NATO Air Shielding mission, which strengthens the Alliance's collective defence and deterrence through an enhanced presence and exercise activity of fighter jets and ground-based air defence units in NATO’s eastern member states. 

Thanks to the close cooperation with the RAF, the Finnish detachment has been able to start operations smoothly and successfully. Since the beginning of April, a RAF detachment of six Typhoon fighter jets from IX(Bomber) Squadron, RAF Lossiemouth, and approximately 250 personnel have been deployed to Mihail Kogălniceanu Air Base. Finnish and British fighter jets will operate side by side until the end of July.

‒ The Royal Air Force is very proud to share the responsibility of enhanced air policing with the Finnish Air Force. We have been working together for months in preparation for their arrival and during the detachment we will learn a lot from each other, the Finnish proficiency is second to none. I want to extend my congratulations to the Finnish Air Force on their accreditation and wish them a successful deployment, says Wing Commander Karl Bird, Commanding Officer 140 Expeditionary Air Wing.

Mission-ready certificate for the Finnish detachment

The Deputy Commander of Combined Air Operations Centre Torrejón, Hellenic Air Force Brigadier General Avraam Kazantzoglou presented the Finnish detachment with the official mission-ready certificate on Tuesday 11 June 2024. The certification ceremony, held at Mihail Kogălniceanu Air Base, was attended by dignitaries including the Minister of Defence of Romania Angel Tîlvăr, and the Ambassador of Finland to Romania Leena Liukkonen.

In his speech, Brigadier General Kazantzoglou thanked Finland for its contribution and commitment to securing the skies of Europe, and emphasized NATO’s determination to defend all of its members. 

‒ Today in Romania, with the Black Sea region being of strategic importance for the Alliance, we are doing exactly what we have to do to remain steadfast in our resolve to protect our citizens, defend our territory as well as safeguard our freedom and democracy. Having the Finnish detachment deploy to Romania right after Finland becoming a NATO member, working together with the Royal Air Force, is a crystal-clear message that we stand together as Allies, he said.

The Commander of Karelia Air Wing, Colonel Johan Anttila attended the ceremony as the representative of the Commander of the Finnish Air Force. In his speech, Colonel Anttila highlighted the importance of the support provided by the Allies, and thanked the personnel of the Finnish detachment for their hard work.

‒ I am sure that our NATO integration will take a big leap forward during this deployment, especially thanks to the cooperation with the Royal Air Force and the Romanian Air Force. As a member of NATO, Finland is now part of an Alliance, so we do not have to solve all the problems by ourselves. Indeed, this deployment would not have been possible without the support of our Allies. I also want to express my deep gratitude to the personnel of the Finnish detachment. A big thank you to all the members of our team – together we are stronger!