On September 18, 2017, Portugal landed a military force in support of four F-16 fighter jets, starting a two-month deployment to the Romanian Air Base of Borcea for the exercise "Falcon Defense 2017".
The Portuguese fighter aircraft will fly training missions in the area in support of NATO policy, to include combined joint missions with the Romanian Air Force, Army and Navy and the Canadian Air Force CF-18s, also deployed in the region, conducting enhanced Air Policing and training missions in Romania. Some of this flying activity will be controlled by a NATO E3-A AWACS operating over the two Allies on the Black Sea shores. The aim of this training is to hone skills and further consolidate cross-Ally interoperability.
Portugal transferred to the Romanian Air Force, 12 F-16 aircraft, while providing training to more than 80 Romanian military personnel in Portugal. With all the fighters delivered, the Portuguese Air Force is now conducting joint training of tactics, techniques and procedures for operations of the jets until late 2018.
"This training deployment is highly beneficial” said Detachment Commander, Lieutenant Colonel João "Jedi” Rosa, who is in charge of 70 military to include pilots, operators, maintainers as well as communications, logistics and other specialists. "While my team has the opportunity to practice deployment and operation, they can, simultaneously, test skills and capabilities away from their home base. Additionally, we are able to fly joint training sorties alongside with our Allies further strengthening the bonds and the interoperability of this Alliance”, he added.
This deployment is one example of Allies organizing joint training activities underlining cohesion and interoperability and showcasing the level of cooperation and consistency required to maintain high NATO standards.
nato
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