Romania Contributes Robust and Responsive Capability to NATO Integrated Air and Missile Defence

The Romanian Air Force contributes significantly to NATO Integrated Air and Missile Defence (NATINAMDS) – the enduring collective security mechanism protecting Allied populations, territories and forces. 

“Over the past years, our Romanian Air Force has significantly enhanced the readiness and responsiveness of the national Integrated Air and Missile Defence (IAMD) forces, ensuring they are at the right place at the right time,” said Major General Leonard-Gabriel Baraboi, Acting Chief of the Romanian Air Force Staff. "These steps have been in line with the introduction to NATO's deterrence and defence posture," he added.

“An effective and deployable IAMD capability is a critical element of Romania's ability to defend itself and to deploy military power to deter actions against our interests and, when required, respond with military force,” said General Gheorghiță Vlad, Romanian Chief of Defence. "In these times of unpredictable and dangerous escalation to old-fashioned authoritarianism that could threaten the entire European security framework, the core principle of the NATO treaty is of utmost importance – legitimate collective security,” he said in view of Russia's attempts at seeking to coerce and destabilize its neighbours, undermine the rules-based international order and re-establish old spheres of influences.

“Therefore, NATO's enduring peacetime mission of Air Policing and the Deterrence and Defence concept, including as Air Shielding and enhanced Vigilance Activities are as important as ever. They will provide a seamless shield across the eastern European Allies, including Romania, to better safeguard and protect territory, populations and forces from air and missile threat,” General Vlad concluded.

Romania's air defence capabilities - multirole F-16 fighter jets, PATRIOT surface-to-air missile systems and the Control and Reporting Centre (CRC) at Bucharest - are fully embedded within NATINAMDS via NATO's southern Combined Air Operations Centre at Torrejón, Spain, to provide deterrence options at any time and protect against air and missile threats.

“Within that framework, the F-16 force is critical in providing an effective 24/7/365 Air Policing capability, and our recent F-16 deployment to the Baltic States proved not only our ability to execute the collective Air Policing mission abroad, but also the high level of training of our Air Force," said General Baraboi. “The PATRIOT systems are essential in enhancing Romania's ability to defend national territory, infrastructure and population. These systems are already part of the national IAMD architecture and –like the F-16s – involved in NATO and national Air Policing operations,” he added.

“Our Romanian air defence capabilities offer the framework and basis that enhance the posture of Alliance forces on the eastern flank, and together with our Allies who deploy to Romania we will mitigate any potential air and missile threat to NATO airspace on the Black Sea shores,” concluded General Baraboi.