Romanian aircraft, radars join Prime Accord exercise

Four F-16 Fighting Falcon aircraft of the 86th Borcea Air Base, two F-16 aircraft, one unmanned aircraft and two air refuelling aircraft of the USAFE United States Air Forces in Europe participated in the Prime Accord multinational air exercise on Thursday, according to a press statement released by the National Defence Ministry (MApN).

The exercise included escort and combat air patrol missions, and it was coordinated by the Air Operations Component of the Romanian Air Force Staff with support of the radio equipment belonging to the 76th Dacia Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Brigade.

The exercise was designed to strengthen NATO's reinsurance measures in South-East Europe, as well as to test the integration capacity of the command and control systems - C2 of Romania and NATO, thus contributing to an increase of Romania's confidence in the US involvement in ensuring regional security, according to MApN.

The participation of Romanian aircraft in this type of activities allows training personnel in the execution of such missions while contributing to the development of multinational air combat co-operation by applying common procedures.

"By successfully performing the joint training exercise, the NATO forces involved are fully prepared to carry out their missions in all areas, demonstrating commitment and interoperability in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic challenges," MApN points out.