Radio România Internațional

Tag: F-16 fighter jets

  • Pilots trained in Fetești

    Pilots trained in Fetești

    A member of
    the so-called Warsaw Pact whereby the USSR gathered its satellites from Central
    and Eastern Europe to create a collective defense system, Romania gained its independence
    and eventually joined NATO. Two decades on, the logistics transition is still
    underway. The Soviet-era equipment of the Romanian army is gradually replaced
    with state-of-the-art modern technology, produced in allied countries with
    ground-breaking technological advancements. At the 86 military base in Fetești,
    preparations are underway to train Romanian pilots who will transition from the
    Soviet-made MiG-21 jets to the better-performing American F-16 fighter jets.
    The training center already has five F-16s on standby, while the Netherlands
    will deliver another 18 jets to Romania by the end of the year. At present,
    Romania’s air fleet consists of 17 F-16 jets purchased from Portugal, while
    Romania has signed a contract with Norway for the delivery of another 32 jets.
    The European Training Center was set up based on a cooperation agreement
    between NATO allies, according to which the Romanian Defense Ministry provides
    the air base and training facilities, the Dutch side provides the F-16 jets,
    while the famous American company Lockheed Martin, the aircraft manufacturer,
    will provide the trainers and maintenance. Attending the inauguration ceremony
    were the Dutch Defense Minister, Kajsa Ollongren and Western diplomats. Romania’s
    defense Minister Angel Tîlvăr:


    Given we’re
    about to receive 32 new aircraft, to us it is extremely important to train
    Romanian pilots. F-16 jets will be operational in Europe for at least another
    20 years. They are important. So, we want our pilots to be well-trained.


    The Fetești
    center will have trainers from every NATO state, and participants will include
    not just pilots from NATO, but also partner states, including neighboring
    Ukraine. In a post on X, Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, thanked his
    counterpart from Romania, Klaus Iohannis, and the Dutch Prime Minister, Mark
    Rutte, for implementing the agreements on delivering highly-performing fighter
    jets to Ukraine and training Ukrainian pilots to operate these aircraft. At
    present, pilots from Ukraine are being trained in the United States and Denmark.
    The training of Ukrainian pilots in Fetești will take nearly six months,
    experts say. (VP)

  • November 29, 2019

    November 29, 2019

    REVOLUTION TRIAL – The High Court of
    Cassation and Justice in Bucharest has set for today the first hearing in the
    Revolution Case, where former President Ion Iliescu is being prosecuted for
    crimes against humanity. The indictment was sent to magistrates in April.
    Investigated in the same case are former deputy Prime Minister Gelu Voican
    Voiculescu and the former head of the Military Aviation, General Iosif Rus.
    According to prosecutors, against the backdrop of the poor relations between
    Romania and the USSR after Prague, 1968, and as a result of the general state
    of public unrest, a dissident group formed with the purpose of removing
    dictator Nicolae Ceausescu from power, but which sought to maintain Romania in
    the Soviet sphere of influence. Prosecutors say this group was made up of
    civilians and military figures, both marginalized in some way by the former
    president. Its members belonged to the Ministry of Defense and the Directorate
    of State Security, as well as to various civilian structures in the state.
    Prosecutors also claim the group surrounding Ion Iliescu acted to take over
    political and military power in December 1989. Therefore the entire military
    power of Romania, the Defense and Interior ministries, the State Security
    Department, as well as the patriot guards acted on behalf of the National
    Salvation Front Council and its leadership starting December 22, 1989.




    F-16 – Romania will be purchasing
    another 5 F-16 fighter jets from Portugal, a Government bill reads. The Defense
    Ministry says the bill was submitted to Parliament to be debated and adopted as
    a top priority. Ministry officials claim the jets will have the same
    configuration as the other 12 previously purchased by the Romanian Air Force.
    The Ministry believes this measure would involve the national defense industry
    in the maintenance, repair works and modernization of the aircraft.




    US – ROMANIA RELATIONS – Romanian Foreign Minister Bogdan Aurescu has commended
    US Ambassador Hans Klemm for his entire activity in Bucharest and his
    substantial and effective contribution to the development and advancement of
    the Strategic Partnership between the two states. Minister Aurescu and
    Ambassador Klemm referred to consolidating cooperation in the field of civil
    nuclear engineering and the security of 5G networks. At the same time, the
    Romanian official reiterated our country’s legitimate interest in acceding to
    the Visa Waiver programme, expressing hope the decreasing visa refusal rate
    during Ambassador Klemm’s term in office is a positive trend that would
    continue in the future as well. New-York-based lawyer Adrian Zuckerman is due
    to replace Hans Klemm as US Ambassador to Bucharest. Zuckerman last week was
    confirmed by the US Senate. A fluent Romanian speaker, Adrian Zuckerman moved
    to the United States with his family at the age of 10.




    CLIMATE CHANGE – Bucharest is today
    playing host to a climate action march. Held under the slogan Climate Action
    Day, the march will be organized in another 11 cities in the country: Târgu Jiu, Iaşi, Timişoara,
    Constanţa, Cluj-Napoca, Oradea, Sibiu, Braşov, Bacău, Târgul Ocna and Craiova. Organizers
    want to raise awarenes over the effects of global warming. Some 1,000 people
    attended the previous such march held on September 20 in Bucharest, and another
    800 people took part in similar events in another eight cities in Romania. We
    recall this Thursday MEPs passed a resolution declaring a climate emergency,
    just ahead of the UN Climate Change Conference (COP25) scheduled for December
    2-13 in Madrid.




    FOOTBALL – Romanian champions CFR Cluj on
    Thursday lost 1-nil to Lazio Rome in Europa League Group E. Celtic Glasgow of
    Scotland is top of the tables with 13 points, followed by CFR Cluj with 9
    points, Lazio Rome with 6 points and Rennes of France with 1 point. CFR will
    next take on Celtic Glasgow at home on December 12, with the Scottish side
    having already secured qualification to the next phase. In other news from
    football, this Saturday Bucharest hosts the 2020 European Championship draw.
    Romania will host four matches next year, three in the group phase and one in
    the round of 16. Our national team didn’t move past the preliminaries, but
    still holds chances of qualifying, as it will play in the Nations League
    playoff scheduled for March next year. Romania will play Iceland on March 26,
    and if it wins it will play the winner of the match pitting Bulgaria and
    Hungary in a match that will decide who will qualify to EURO 2020.




    HANDBALL – The Romanian women’s
    handball team is tomorrow playing Spain in the first match in Group C at the
    World Cup hosted by Japan until December 15. Romania was drawn in Group C
    alongside Senegal, Kazakhstan, Montenegro and Hungary. The top three teams will
    advance to the next phase. From 1957 to 2017, Romania has never missed a World
    Cup. Our country won silver in 2005 in Russia and bronze in 2015 in Denmark.


    (Translated by
    V. Palcu)

  • Romanian Army Upgrades Air Forces

    Romanian Army Upgrades Air Forces

    The Romanian Air Forces have just been strengthened, with the purchase of 12 multirole F-16 Fighting Falcon planes from Portugal, under a 628 million-euro contract. A first squadron of 6 aircraft marked with Romanias national colours landed in the country last week, after having been officially taken over in a ceremony held at the Portuguese air base in Monte Real. Three more fighter jets are scheduled to arrive in December, and the last 3 next year.



    The aircraft will be based in Fetesti, south-eastern Romania, and in Campia Turzii, in the centre, with the two air bases revamped specifically in order to receive the jets. Produced between 1981 and 1983, the F-16s have undergone successive upgrade programmes to reach the current stage, termed F-16 Mid-Life Update M52. The remaining service time is on average 4.500 flight hours, that is, more than half of the airplane lifespan. At a rate of about 200 flight hours per year, the planes are expected to be operational for the next 20 years.



    So far 80 Romanian troops have completed an F-16 training programme at the Monte Real air base. They are thrilled with the performance of the aircraft, which they describe as “the most successful in the world in its category, and able to accomplish any mission.



    In turn, the Romanian Defence Minister Mihnea Motoc says the purchase of these fighter jets means that Romania has joined the “F-16 club and that this may be a new beginning for the Romanian pilot school, one of the oldest in the world, to contribute once again to the training of elite pilots. The 12 multirole fighters in the Romanian-Portuguese contract are also a first step in building a robust air capacity in the region.



    At present, Romanias air space is protected by Soviet-made MiG-21 LanceR supersonic aircraft, modernised in a partnership with an Israeli company since 1995. The third-generation MiGs, whose lifespan ends in 2017, will be replaced with the fourth-generation F-16s. The Romanian Air Forces are also equipped with domestically-built IAR-99 Soim and Iak-52 subsonic training aircraft, with C-27J Spartan transport aircraft of Italian production and American C-130 Hercules planes.



    The Romanian Army also uses IAR-316 Alouette helicopters and IAR-330 Puma helicopters, with their modernised version, IAR-330 Puma SOCAT. All of them are produced domestically under French license. The Romanian Air Forces equipment also includes AN-30 planes, produced in the former USSR, and used for aerial photography and cartography.


    (Translated by A.M. Popescu)

  • September 29, 2016 UPDATE

    September 29, 2016 UPDATE

    BREXIT – Romanian President Klaus Iohannis on Thursday, said that EU and London authorities should maintain a close relationship after Brexit. Speaking at the European People’s Party Group meeting, the president said it is important for the negotiation process to be carried out by means of transparent, orderly and predictable dialogue. Additionally the president said that Brexit, migration and terrorism are the greatest challenges facing the EU.



    INVESTIGATION – The Prosecutors Office has launched criminal proceedings in the case of the intellectual fraud regarding the doctoral thesis of chief anti-corruption prosecutor Laura Codruta Kovesi. The investigation started following the self-denunciation of MP Sebastian Ghita, who claims that together with other high-ranking officials, he forged a report that was to clear Laura Codruta Kovesi of all plagiarism charges. Sebastian Ghita, who is investigated in a number of corruption cases, claims the offense was committed in 2012.



    COMMISSIONER – European Commissioner for Regional Policy Corina Cretu on Thursday visited Romania to talk to Bucharest authorities about EC priorities and European fund absorption. The Commissioner also discussed projects financed by Europe, and took part in meetings with government officials and conferences attended by members of Parliament and local administration officials. This year, the European commissioner has repeatedly pointed out the risks of low levels of absorption of European funds in the country. Moneys meted out by the EU run the risk of being wasted since no project has been submitted in this fiscal period, according to Corina Cretu. Romania has been allocated 22 billion Euro for the 2014-2020 fiscal period.



    AUTOMOTIVE – The Dacia Duster EDC car model is Renault’s most eagerly expected introduction at the Paris Auto Salon, featuring the latest in drive technology, the double clutch. It will be presented at the Dacia stand alongside the Dacia Sandero and Dacia Sandero Stepway, the Dacia Logan and Dacia Logan MCV. The Dacia brand was acquired in 1999 by Renault, and makes up for about 30% of its sales. Dacia recently confirmed that part of the manufacturing of the Logan MCV model, so far made in Mioveni, in Romania, will shift to Tangiers, in Morocco. The decision was made in order to boost output for the Duster model in Mioveni, against high demand in Europe.



    F-16 – The first batch of six F-16 fighter jets arrived in Romania on Thursday. After yesterday’s ceremony at the Monte Real airbase in Portugal, Romanian pilots brought the aircraft to the airbase in Fetesti, southeastern Romania, after two years of training. The planes have undergone upgrades, in order to be able to operate on an equal footing with other multirole aircraft in NATO’s air wing. The F-16 group will be refreshed by three more aircraft to be delivered by the end of the year, and three more to arrive in 2017. Three years ago, Romania put in an order for the American made 12 war planes to Portugal for a transaction worth 628 million Euro.



    FENCE – A protective fence will be built on the Romanian-Hungarian border only as a last resort, Janos Lazar, the Minister of the Hungarian Ministers office said on Thursday. The Hungarian official added that the Romanian border police is carrying out its activity with utter professionalism. Few refugees arrive in Romania daily, less than in Serbia and Croatia, Janos Lazar said.



    RADIRO – The RadiRo 2016 symphonic music radio orchestra festival has reached its sixth day, after a show put on yesterday by the MDR Radio Symphony Orchestra of Leipzig, the oldest radio orchestra in Germany, conducted by Estonian Kristian Jarvi, honorary director of the festival this year. The soloist was Stefano Bollani, playing four interludes from the opera Intermezzo, by Richard Strauss, Rhapsody in Blue by George Gershwhin, and a suite from Swan Lake, by Tchaikovsky. Thursday nights show featured the ORF Radio Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Cornelius Meister, with Gideon Kramer as a soloist. The festival runs until October 1st.



    TENNIS – Romanian tennis player Simona Halep, WTA 5th seeded, on Thursday qualified for the semi-finals of the tournament in Wuhan, China, a competition with prizes totaling 2.6 million dollars. She defeated American player Madison Keys 6-4, 6-2. She next plays against Slovakian Dominika Cibulkova.



    (Translated by C. Cotoiu and V. Palcu)