| Romanian Air Force Forţele Aeriene Române |
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|---|---|
The coat of arms and the identification flag |
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| Founded | 1st of April 1913 (official date) |
| Country | Romania |
| Size | 9,700 personnel[1] |
| Part of | Romanian Armed Forces |
| Command HQ | Statul Major al Forţelor Aeriene - Bucharest |
| Commanders | |
| Chief of the General Air Staff | Major General Fănică Cârnu |
| Insignia | |
| Roundel | |
| Military colors | |
| Aircraft flown | |
| Attack | MiG-21 LanceR 'B', IAR-330 SOCAT |
| Fighter | MiG-21 LanceR 'A'/'C' |
| Reconnaissance | Antonov An-30, RQ-7 Shadow |
| Trainer | IAR-99, IAR 316, Yak-52 |
| Transport | C-130 Hercules, C-27J Spartan, Antonov An-26, IAR-330L Puma |
The Romanian Air Force (Romanian: Forţele Aeriene Române) is the air force branch of the Romanian Armed Forces. It has an air force headquarters, an operational command, four air bases and an air defense brigade. Reserve forces include two air bases and three airfields.
In 2010, the Romanian Air Force employed 9,700 personnel.
Contents |
The Romanian Air Force modernized 110 MiG 21 LanceRs, in cooperation with Israel between 1993 and 2002. Today, 48 of these MiG 21 LanceRs are operational [2]. The Romanian Air Force also operates C-130 Hercules, C-27J Spartan, An-26s transport planes and IAR-330 Puma helicopters. IAR-330 PUMA SOCAT helicopters have been modernized by the Romanian Aviation Industry in cooperation with Elbit Systems (Israel) for attack missions. The Romanian Air Force also includes native-made IAR-99 Şoim jet planes, in general only used for training of the young pilots. The remaining MiG-29s have been removed from service in 2003.
Due to the old age of the MIGs, the Romanian Air Force is considering procurement of new fighters, or possibly used fighters as an interim solution. They will probably be replaced in 2012 when new fighter jets will arrive, such as the F-16, F/A-18, Eurofighter Typhoon or Gripen. However, due to budgetary reasons, Romania's MiG-21s may still be in service for years longer.
In the spring of 2009, the Romanian government decided to purchase VSHORAD/SHORAD systems from France.[3] The deal included Mistral MANPADS and MICA VL surface-to-air missiles.[4] However, after preliminary talks with MBDA in August, the deal was put on hold and canceled afterwards because of the defense cuts.[5]
In February 2010, the Supreme Council of National Defense signed an agreement with the United States for missile defense under whose terms land-based SM-3 systems would be installed in Romania. On the 3rd of May 2011, the president of Romania Traian Băsescu announced the location for the SM-3 systems. They will be installed at the former Air Force base Deveselu in Olt County.[6] The system includes 3 batteries with 24 SM-3 Block I rockets, manned by approximately 200 US soldiers (with a maximum of 500) under Romanian Air Force overall command.
The current chief of the Romanian Air Force Staff , succeeding General Ion-Aurel Stanciu on 7 January 2011, is Major General Fănică Cârnu.
| History |
|---|
| Royal Romanian Air Force |
| List of WWII flying aces |
| Aircraft |
| List of Romanian Air Force aircraft |
| Structure |
| List of Air bases |
| List of squadrons/other units |
| Personnel |
| Officer ranks |
Romania was one of the first countries in the world to have an air force, starting with 1913. In 1912, the Romanian Air Force commissioned 10 Vlaicu I aircraft, built by Aurel Vlaicu in Bucharest.
During World War I, Romania acquired 322 aircraft from France and Great Britain including: Nieuport fighters (types 11, 12, 19, 21, 23, and 28), Farman reconnaissance and light bombing aircraft (types 40 and 46), and Breguet-Michelin heavy bombers. On September 16, 1916, a Romanian Farman F.40 shot down an Imperial German Air Force aircraft near Slobozia; this was the first victory in the history of the Romanian Air Force. By the end of World War I, Romanian pilots had achieved about 11,000 hours of flight and fought 750 air battles.
During the interwar period, the RoAF, second only to Poland among the future Warsaw Pact countries, had a powerful national aircraft industry which designed and produced all types of military and most civil aircraft. In particular the IAR 80 series were stressed-skin fighters, worthy to rank with the other single-seat fighters of WWII, and used in significant numbers on the Eastern Front.
The RoAF was reorganized during an 18-year period. Over 2,000 military and civil aircraft were built in Romania, based on native or licensed designs. The military aviation used IAR 80 fighters, which became famous on the Eastern Front, and bombers manufactured by IAR Braşov. Messerschmitt Bf 109 and Heinkel He 112 fighters, Heinkel He 111 and Junkers Ju 88 bombers, Junkers Ju 87 dive bomber, Junkers Ju 52 transport and Heinkel He 114 seaplanes were purchased from Germany in the interwar period.
When Romania, allied with Nazi Germany, went to war against the USSR, on June 22, 1941, the Romanian Air Force had 621 airplanes, including its native made fighter IAR 80/81. The air force accomplished hundreds of missions, contributing to Romania's recapture of Northern Bukovina and Bessarabia, which had been occupied by the Soviet Union a year earlier. Until the Odessa episode, the Romanian military fighters gained 661 air victories. Romanian Military Aviation fought on the Eastern front until August 22, 1944, bringing an important contribution to the great battles in Stalingrad, Crimea, and the Ukrainian fronts. Between 1941-1944 Romanian aircraft won 2,000 air victories. The most famous flying aces were Captain Prince Constantin Cantacuzino, who gained 68 certified victories, Captain Horia Agarici and Captain Alexandru Şerbănescu, who shot down 60 enemy airplanes.
Starting with 1948, Romania tailored its military to Soviet concepts and doctrine. On February 15, 1949, the Aviation Command was established based on the Soviet model (regiments instead of flotillas). New Soviet aircraft, such as Yakovlev Yak-18, Polikarpov Po-2, Lavochkin La-9, Tupolev Tu-2, and Ilyushin Il-10 entered service. A year later, 77 Yakovlev Yak-17s and Yakovlev Yak-23s entered the air force, and in 1952, other 88 aircraft: MiG-15 and MiG-17. In 1958, the first supersonic fighter MiG-19 entered the inventory. Three years later, in February 1962, a new fighter was added to the inventory, MiG-21, which represented one of the most effective fighters of that time.
Starting with 1974, Romanian-made aircraft supplemented the already existing jets. The Romanian IAR-93 subsonic aircraft flew its first flight on 31 October 1974. It represented a great step forward taking into account that it was the only jet fighter not made by the Soviets, the only one ever manufactured and operated by a Warsaw Pact country.
In 1962, the first helicopter subunits were established and followed later on, in 1965, by the first Soviet Mi-2 and Mi-4 helicopters. Renewing the aircraft fleet process went on, the first 12 MiG-23s entering the service between July-September 1979.
On 14 May 1981, at 20:16, Soviet spaceship Soyuz-40 was launched from Baikonur to perform a common Romanian-Soviet flight, with Lieutenant Dumitru Prunariu and Colonel Leonid Popov as commander on board. During the early 80's 67th Fighter-Bomber Regiment and 49th Fighter-Bomber Regiment from Craiova and Ianca were equipped with new IAR-93 attack aircraft which have replaced old MiG-15s and MiG-17s. In December 1989, just a few days before the Romanian revolution against communism began, MiG-29 aircraft had entered the Air Force inventory.
Four MiG-21 LanceR Cs were deployed from August 2007 to November 2007 at Šiauliai, in Lithuania for Baltic Air Policing. The Romanian detachment succeeded the French Air Force Mirage 2000Cs of Escadron de Chasse 01.012 from Cambrai, which fulfilled the Baltic Air Policing since May 2007. Once the RoAF finished its three-month stint, a Portuguese Air Force detachment took over the mission.[7]
The four aircraft and most of the staff came from the 71st Air Base. A total of 67 personnel, among them nine pilots, were part of the detachment: 63 served at Šiauliai, while other four served at the air traffic control centre in Kaunas, to ensure smooth cooperation with local authorities. The Romanian detachment attracted attention from the local media, not least from the fact that it was only the second time a fighter from the Soviet era deployed to Šiauliai - Polish Air Force MiG-29s have also been deployed there in 2006. [8]
Three people were killed on November 7, 2007, when an IAR-330 Puma SOCAT attack helicopter belonging to the 90th Airlift Base crashed in Ungheni, near Piteşti, Argeş County. The aircraft was doing a night training mission at the moment of the crash.[9]
The Romanian Air Force Staff represents the military concept-developing, command and executive structure providing Air Forces peacetime, crisis and wartime leadership in order to reach, maintain and increase, as required, the operational level of the military subordinated structures so that to be able to operate under authorized commands responsible for military operations planning and conduct.
Generate, mobilize, structure, equip, operationalize and regenerate the required forces, provide the logistic support necessary to conduct military operations and based on higher orders, take over both the Joint Operation Air Component and independent air operations command and control, through the Main Air Operational Center. Starting with July 1st 2010, the Romanian Air Force bases were renamed to Air Flotillas. [10]
The Romanian Air Force has 5 active air bases:
71st Air Flotilla - Câmpia Turzii
90th Airlift Flotilla - Bucureşti - Otopeni
"Aurel Vlaicu" Flight School - Boboc (Buzau)
There are also 3 airfields included in the reserve forces.
The Capu Midia training camp and surface to air firing range represents the Romanian Air Force structure specialized in providing the necessary facilities for firing training, execution and evaluation. It is located in Constanţa County, 20 km north from the county capital, Constanţa.
| Aircraft | Photo | Origin | Type | Versions | In service | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fixed-wing Aircraft | ||||||
| MiG-21 LanceR | Soviet Union | Fighter Aircraft | MiG-21 LanceR A | 49[1] | ground attack [11] | |
| Trainer Aircraft | MiG-21 LanceR B | |||||
| Fighter Aircraft | MiG-21 LanceR C | 20[1]; air superiority [11] | ||||
| An-26 Curl | Soviet Union | Cargo/Transport Aircraft | An-26 | 4[1] | will be maintained in service until 2012 or more | |
| An-30 Clank | Soviet Union | Reconnaissance Aircraft | An-30 | 1[1] | aerial cartography for Treaty on Open Skies. | |
| C-27J Spartan | Italy | Cargo/Transport Aircraft | C-27J | 3[1] | another 4 are scheduled to be delivered until 2012.[12][13][1] | |
| C-130 Hercules | United States | Cargo/Transport Aircraft | C-130B
C-130H |
4[1]
1[1] |
||
| IAR 99 Șoim | Romania | Trainer Aircraft | IAR-99
IAR-99C |
10[1]
11[1] |
||
| Yak-52 | Romania | Trainer Aircraft | Iak-52 | 12[1] | licensed built Yak-52 by Aerostar | |
| Helicopters | ||||||
| IAR 316 Alouette III | Romania | Training Helicopter | IAR-316 | 6[1] | a squadron remains operational with the training unit at Boboc | |
| IAR 330 Puma | Romania | Utility Helicopter | IAR-330 | 35[1] | ||
| Attack Helicopter | IAR-330 SOCAT | 23[1] | 25 initially, 2 crashed | |||
| Other | ||||||
| RQ-7 Shadow | United States | UAV | Shadow-600 | 7 | 11 initially, 4 crashed (1 in country, 3 in Iraq) | |
| S-60 | Soviet Union | anti-aircraft gun | CRT 1RL-35M1 | 250 | Will be replaced with SHORAD systems. Still used for training as of 2010. | |
| MIM-23 Hawk | United States | surface to air missile | Hawk XXI | 224 | 8 batteries[1] | |
| S-75 Dvina | Soviet Union | surface to air missile | S-75 M3 "Volhov" | 6 batteries[1]; 18 or 20 initially delivered by USSR between 1963-1967, modernized three times since then.[14] | ||
| AN/FPS-117 | United States | radar | AN/FPS-117E (T) | 5 | 3-dimensional air search radar; in service since 1998 | |
| P-18 radar | Soviet Union | radar | P-18 | 2-dimensional air search radar; in service since 1977 | ||
| P-37 Bar Lock | Soviet Union | radar | P-37 Bar Lock | 2D E band/F band radar; in service since 1975 | ||
| TPS-79 | United States Romania |
radar | TPS-79(R) | 19 | 3-dimensional air search radar.[15] in service since late 2004. | |
| PRV-13 | Soviet Union | Radar altimeter | PRV-13 | In service since 1978 | ||
| RIM-161 Standard Missile 3 | United States | Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense System | SM-3 (Block IB) | 24 | 3 batteries[16] will be installed by 2015. | |
The Romanian roundel has the same colours like the Romanian flag. The innermost circle is blue, followed by yellow, and then red. It is placed on Romanian Armed Forces vehicles and Romanian Air Force aircraft.
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