The
Romanian Air Force
The Romanian Air Force (RoAF) ( ro, Forțele Aeriene Române) is the air force branch of the Romanian Armed Forces. It has an air force headquarters, an operational command, five airbases and an air defense brigade. Reserve forces include one ai ...
57th Air Base "Mihail Kogălniceanu" ( ro, Baza 57 Aeriană "Mihail Kogălniceanu") is an air base located near
Constanța
Constanța (, ; ; rup, Custantsa; bg, Кюстенджа, Kyustendzha, or bg, Констанца, Konstantsa, label=none; el, Κωνστάντζα, Kōnstántza, or el, Κωνστάντια, Kōnstántia, label=none; tr, Köstence), histo ...
, at the
Mihail Kogălniceanu International Airport
Mihail Kogălniceanu Airport is situated in southeastern Romania, in the commune of Mihail Kogălniceanu, north-northwest of Constanța. It is the main airport of the Northern Dobruja region and provides access to Constanța County, the Port of ...
. It is currently home to the 572nd Helicopter Squadron and also hosts the 861st Fighter Squadron of the
86th Air Base. The current base commander is ''
Comandor'' Nicolae Crețu, succeeding ''Comandor'' Adrian Popescu.
History
Cold War era
![Yakovlev Yak-23, Poland - Air Force AN1339633](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/aa/Yakovlev_Yak-23%2C_Poland_-_Air_Force_AN1339633.jpg)
The 57th Air Base was first formed as , soon to be renamed to , on 15 April 1951 at the
Pipera Aerodrome. It was equipped with
Po-2
The Polikarpov Po-2 (also U-2, for its initial ''uchebnyy'', 'training', role as a flight instruction aircraft) served as an all-weather multirole Soviet biplane, nicknamed ''Kukuruznik'' (russian: Кукурузник,Gunston 1995, p. 292. NAT ...
,
Yak-11
The Yakovlev Yak-11 (russian: Яковлев Як-11; NATO reporting name: "Moose") is a trainer aircraft used by the Soviet Air Force and other Soviet-influenced air forces from 1947 until 1962.
Design and development
The Yakovlev design burea ...
,
Yak-23
The Yakovlev Yak-23 (russian: Яковлев Як-23; USAF/DoD reporting name Type 28, NATO reporting name Flora) was an early Soviet Union, Soviet jet engine, jet Fighter aircraft, fighter with a straight wing. It was developed from the Yakovlev ...
and
Yak-17
The Yakovlev Yak-17 (russian: Яковлев Як-17; USAF/ DOD designation Type 16, NATO reporting name Feather) was an early Soviet jet fighter. It was developed from the Yak-15, the primary difference being tricycle landing gear. The trainer ...
aircraft.
The fighter regiment moved to the
Mihail Kogălniceanu Aerodrome in 1955, following the escape by
seaplane
A seaplane is a powered fixed-wing aircraft capable of takeoff, taking off and water landing, landing (alighting) on water.Gunston, "The Cambridge Aerospace Dictionary", 2009. Seaplanes are usually divided into two categories based on their tec ...
of two aviators from
Palazu Mare Palazu may refer to one of two villages in Constanța County, Romania:
*Palazu Mare, a village in Constanța city
*Palazu Mic, a village in Mihail Kogălniceanu
Mihail Kogălniceanu (; also known as Mihail Cogâlniceanu, Michel de Kogalnitcha ...
. On 1 November 1959, it was renamed to (57th Fighter Aviation Regiment). The name was kept until 1995.
From 1979, the first
MiG-23
The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-23 (russian: Микоян и Гуревич МиГ-23; NATO reporting name: Flogger) is a variable-geometry fighter aircraft, designed by the Mikoyan-Gurevich design bureau in the Soviet Union. It is a third-generatio ...
s arrived at the base. These equipped the 1st Squadron of the Regiment. The 2nd Squadron converted to the MiG-23 in 1980. From 1989, the Regiment started receiving
MiG-29
The Mikoyan MiG-29 (russian: Микоян МиГ-29; NATO reporting name: Fulcrum) is a twin-engine fighter aircraft designed in the Soviet Union. Developed by the Mikoyan design bureau as an air superiority fighter during the 1970s, the Mi ...
s. The MiG-29s were assigned to the 2nd and 3rd Squadrons of the Regiment.
Post-1990
![MiG-29 Fulcrum at Mihail Kogalniceanu airbase](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b5/MiG-29_Fulcrum_at_Mihail_Kogalniceanu_airbase.JPEG)
The
United States Armed Forces
The United States Armed Forces are the military forces of the United States. The armed forces consists of six service branches: the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, Space Force, and Coast Guard. The president of the United States is the ...
started to use the base in 1999. In 2003, it became one of four Romanian military facilities that U.S. military forces have used as a staging area for the invasion of, and ongoing counter-insurgency efforts in
Iraq
Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...
, operated by the
458th Air Expeditionary Group
The 458th Air Expeditionary Group is a provisional United States Air Force unit assigned to United States Air Forces in Europe to activate or inactivate as needed. The most recent known activation of the unit was at Ramstein Air Base, Germany i ...
. It was intended to become one of the main operating bases of
United States Army Europe
United States Army Europe and Africa (USAREUR-AF) is an Army Service Component Command (ASCC) /Theater Army responsible for directing United States Army operations throughout the U.S. European Command (EUCOM) and U.S. Africa Command (AFRICO ...
's Joint Task Force East (JTF-E), a rotating task force initially to be provided by the
U.S. 2nd Cavalry Regiment
The 2nd Cavalry Regiment, also known as the 2nd Dragoons, is an active Stryker infantry and cavalry regiment of the United States Army. The Second Cavalry Regiment is a unit of the United States Army Europe and Africa, with its garrison at the ...
, which was to eventually grow to a brigade-sized force. The JTF-E concept has been reduced to the Army-only
Task Force East
Black Sea Area Support Group (BS-ASG), (Formerly Joint Task Force-East) is a United States European Command initiative executed by U.S. Army Europe (USAREUR) designed to strengthen relationships between the United States and its Eastern European ...
, but the base still retains an important role, given added weight by the
2014 Crimean crisis
In February and March 2014, Russia invaded and subsequently annexed the Crimean Peninsula from Ukraine. This event took place in the aftermath of the Revolution of Dignity and is part of the wider Russo-Ukrainian War.
The Revolution of Dign ...
.
During the first three months of the
2003 invasion of Iraq
The 2003 invasion of Iraq was a United States-led invasion of the Republic of Iraq and the first stage of the Iraq War. The invasion phase began on 19 March 2003 (air) and 20 March 2003 (ground) and lasted just over one month, including 26 ...
, the airport was transited by 1,300 cargo and personnel transports towards Iraq, comprising 6,200 personnel and about 11,100 tons of equipment. Since 2009, the United States has operated a Permanent
Forward Operating Site (PFOS).
The base was disbanded in April 2004, following the retirement of the MiG-29s, becoming an annex to the
86th Air Base. All the MiG-29s remain in open storage at the base.
On 1 May 2007, the Mihail Kogălniceanu aerodrome was established with the mission to coordinate the aeronautical activities in the area of responsibility, to ensure the Support of the Host Nation for the armed forces in transit, and to represent the interface between the foreign armed forces that carried out activities on the aerodrome and the public authorities represented locally. On 1 January 2014, Mihail Kogălniceanu Aerodrome changed its organizational structure, by assimilating the Mihail Kogălniceanu Administrative Center, subordinated to the General Staff of the Land Forces.
With the closure of the
Transit Center at Manas
Transit Center at Manas (formerly Manas Air Base and unofficially Ganci Air Base) is a former U.S. military installation at Manas International Airport, near Bishkek, the capital of Kyrgyzstan. It was primarily operated by the U.S. Air ...
in Kyrgyzstan, The United States military transferred processing operations for military deploying to Afghanistan and other locations to the base. The United States Army
21st Theater Sustainment Command
The 21st Theater Sustainment Command (21st TSC) provides theater sustainment throughout EUCOM and AFRICOM Areas of Responsibility in support of USAREUR and 7th Army. On order, deploys to support theater opening, distribution, and Reception, S ...
and Air Force
780th Expeditionary Airlift Squadron
The 780th Expeditionary Airlift Squadron is a provisional active United States Air Force unit. It is assigned to Air Mobility Command to activate or inactivate as needed for contingency operations.
The squadron was first activated in 1943 as th ...
are responsible for US operations there.
![IAR-330 Puma Helicopter at Mihail Kogalniceanu](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/15/IAR-330_Puma_Helicopter_at_Mihail_Kogalniceanu.jpg)
On 15 August 2018, the
Britain
Britain most often refers to:
* The United Kingdom, a sovereign state in Europe comprising the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands
* Great Britain, the largest island in the United King ...
's
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...
four
Eurofighter Typhoons based there were scrambled to intercept six
Russian Air Force
" Air March"
, mascot =
, anniversaries = 12 August
, equipment =
, equipment_label =
, battles =
, decorations =
, bat ...
Su-24 Fencer
The Sukhoi Su-24 (NATO reporting name: Fencer) is a supersonic, night fighter, all-weather attack aircraft developed in the Soviet Union. The aircraft has a variable-sweep wing, Twinjet, twin-engines and a side-by-side seating arrangement for it ...
bombers over the
Black Sea
The Black Sea is a marginal mediterranean sea of the Atlantic Ocean lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bounded by Bulgaria, Georgia, Roma ...
, under the
NATO
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...
Enhanced Air Policing (eAP) mission.
[Britain's RAF intercepts six Russian bombers over Black Sea](_blank)
Space Daily, 2018-08-15
In October 2019, a detachment of 4
IAR 330
The IAR 330 is a licence-built version of the Aérospatiale SA 330 Puma helicopter, manufactured by the Romanian aerospace manufacturer IAR Brașov.
The IAR 330 was produced under a licensing agreement with the French aerospace firm Aérospati ...
L helicopters from the 572nd Helicopter Squadron was sent to participate in the
UN mission to Mali. The ''Carpathian Pumas'' detachment carried out medical evacuation missions, transport of troops and materials, air patrols, and observation missions. The detachment completed 380 missions until 2020. During the deployment, one helicopter was damaged by a storm while refueling at the UN base in
Douentza
Douentza (Fulfulde: ''Duwayⁿsa'') is a town and urban commune in the Mopti Region of central Mali. The town lies 145 km east-northeast of Mopti on the RN16, a paved road that links Mopti and Gao. It is the administrative center of the Do ...
.
On 5 September 2020, the
Royal Canadian Air Force
The Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF; french: Aviation royale canadienne, ARC) is the air and space force of Canada. Its role is to "provide the Canadian Forces with relevant, responsive and effective airpower". The RCAF is one of three environm ...
began a three-month
NATO
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...
enhanced
Air Policing Air sovereignty is the fundamental right of a sovereign state to regulate the use of its airspace and enforce its own aviation law – ''in extremis'' by the use of fighter aircraft.
The upper limit of national airspace is not defined by internatio ...
mission with six
CF-18 Hornet
The McDonnell Douglas CF-18 Hornet (official military designation CF-188) is a Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) variant of the American McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet fighter aircraft. In 1980, the F/A-18 was selected as the winner of the New ...
fighter jets that had deployed to Mihail Kogălniceanu. As of August 2022 the RCAF has returned with its fighters to continue the missions.
Foreign Deployments
NATO Enhanced Air Policing
![F-16 and Eurofighter Typhoon flying in Formation](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/99/F-16_and_Eurofighter_Typhoon_flying_in_Formation.jpg)
NATO Enhanced Air Policing started in 2014, as NATO's response to Russia's annexation of Crimea.
Since then several NATO members have been deployed on the base to participate in this mission:
*The Royal Canadian Air Force, participated in the mission with CF-18 Hornet fighters since 2017.
*The Royal Air Force, has participated with its Typhoons in the mission since 2017.
*The
Italian Air Force
, colours =
, colours_label =
, march = (Ordinance March of the Air Force) by Alberto Di Miniello
, mascot =
, anniversaries = 28 March ...
started its deployments in the mission since 2019.
*The
Spanish Air Force
, colours =
, colours_label =
, march = Spanish Air and Space Force Anthem
, mascot =
, anniversaries = 10 December
, equipment ...
Eurofighter Typhoons began participating in the mission since 2021.
Other deployments
![Air Assault](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/19/Air_Assault.jpg)
The
United States Marine Corps
The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through combi ...
Black Sea Rotational Force
Black Sea Rotational Force began in 2010 with the purpose to form a Security Cooperation Marine Air-Ground Task Force. The forward postured troops' ability to conduct military-to-military engagements with partner nations in Eastern Europe while ...
was headquartered at the base from 2010 until 2018, when the Corps was moved to
Norway
Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...
. In 2016, two
F-22 Raptors arrived at the base as part of a
Rapid Response program training exercise. After a few hours at the base, the F-22s flew back to Great Britain.
As of 2022, an
ARTEMIS
In ancient Greek mythology and religion, Artemis (; grc-gre, Ἄρτεμις) is the goddess of the hunt, the wilderness, wild animals, nature, vegetation, childbirth, care of children, and chastity. She was heavily identified wit ...
special mission aircraft of the
United States Army
The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...
deployed here for reconnaissance of Eastern Europe.
In June 2022, elements of the
101st Airborne Division
The 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) ("Screaming Eagles") is a light infantry division of the United States Army that specializes in air assault operations. It can plan, coordinate, and execute multiple battalion-size air assault operati ...
were deployed at the base. On 30 July 2022, they uncased their colors and conducted an air assault demonstration together with the Romanian
9th Mechanized Brigade. As of October, about 4,700 soldiers from
Fort Campbell
Fort Campbell is a United States Army installation located astride the Kentucky–Tennessee border between Hopkinsville, Kentucky, Hopkinsville, Kentucky and Clarksville, Tennessee, Clarksville, Tennessee (post address is located in Kentucky). F ...
have been deployed on NATO's eastern flank, 2,400 of which are stationed at the Mihail Kogălniceanu base.
Future expansion
In 2021, the first stage of a 2 billion
euro
The euro ( symbol: €; code: EUR) is the official currency of 19 out of the member states of the European Union (EU). This group of states is known as the eurozone or, officially, the euro area, and includes about 340 million citizens . ...
project was launched by the
Romanian Armed Forces
The Land Forces, Air Force and Naval Forces of Romania are collectively known as the Romanian Armed Forces ( ro, Forțele Armate Române or ''Armata Română''). The current Commander-in-chief is Lieutenant General Daniel Petrescu who is managed ...
with the goal of modernizing and expanding the base as a response to the
2014 Russian annexation of Crimea
In February and March 2014, Russia invaded and subsequently annexed the Crimean Peninsula from Ukraine. This event took place in the aftermath of the Revolution of Dignity and is part of the wider Russo-Ukrainian War.
The events in Kyiv th ...
. Under this project plans are to build a small military city, similar to
Ramstein Air Base
Ramstein Air Base or Ramstein AB is a United States Air Force base in Rhineland-Palatinate, a state in southwestern Germany. It serves as headquarters for the United States Air Forces in Europe – Air Forces Africa (USAFE-AFAFRICA) and also ...
, which will house around 10,000
US troops
The United States Armed Forces are the military forces of the United States. The armed forces consists of six service branches: the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, Space Force, and Coast Guard. The president of the United States is the ...
, with a total area of around .
On 10 June 2022, the
Ministry of Defence
{{unsourced, date=February 2021
A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is an often-used name for the part of a government responsible for matters of defence, found in states ...
announced the winners of the contract for the base upgrades. Three companies, along with 22
subcontractor
A subcontractor is an individual or (in many cases) a business that signs a contract to perform part or all of the obligations of another's contract.
Put simply the role of a subcontractor is to execute the job they are hired by the contractor f ...
s, will take part in the works. The
state secret-level classified project is set to finish in almost 9 years.
Alleged CIA black site
It was alleged to be one of the
black site
In military terminology, a black site is a location at which an unacknowledged black operation or black project is conducted. According to the Associated Press, "Black sites are clandestine jails where prisoners generally are not charged with a ...
s involved in the
CIA
The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA ), known informally as the Agency and historically as the Company, is a civilian intelligence agency, foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States, officially tasked with gat ...
's network of "
extraordinary rendition
Extraordinary rendition is a euphemism for state-sponsored Kidnapping, forcible abduction in another jurisdiction and transfer to a third state. The phrase usually refers to a United States-led program used during the War on Terror, which had t ...
s". According to
Eurocontrol
The European Organisation for the Safety of Air Navigation, commonly known as Eurocontrol (stylised ''EUROCONTROL''), is an international organisation working to achieve safe and seamless air traffic management across Europe. Founded in 1960, Eur ...
data, it has been the site of four landings and two stopovers by aircraft identified as probably belonging to the CIA's fleet of rendition planes, including at least one widely used executive jet N379P (later registered, and more commonly cited, as
N44982).
European, but not U.S., media have widely distributed reports of a fax intercepted by
Swiss
Swiss may refer to:
* the adjectival form of Switzerland
* Swiss people
Places
* Swiss, Missouri
* Swiss, North Carolina
*Swiss, West Virginia
* Swiss, Wisconsin
Other uses
*Swiss-system tournament, in various games and sports
*Swiss Internation ...
intelligence, datelined November 10, 2005, that "was sent by the
Egypt
Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...
ian foreign minister,
Ahmed Aboul Gheit
Ahmed Aboul Gheit ( ar, أحمد أبو الغيط , also: Abu al-Ghayt, Abu El Gheyt, etc.) (born 12 June 1942) is an Egyptian politician and diplomat who has been Secretary-General of the Arab League since July 2016. He was reappointed for a s ...
, in
Cairo
Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the largest urban agglomeration in Africa, the Arab world and the Middle East: The Greater Cairo metro ...
, to his ambassador in
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
. It revealed that the United States had detained at least 23
Iraq
Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...
i and
Afghan
Afghan may refer to:
*Something of or related to Afghanistan, a country in Southern-Central Asia
*Afghans, people or citizens of Afghanistan, typically of any ethnicity
** Afghan (ethnonym), the historic term applied strictly to people of the Pas ...
captives at a military base called Mihail Kogălniceanu in Romania, and added that similar secret prisons were also to be found in
Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...
,
Ukraine
Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...
,
Kosovo
Kosovo ( sq, Kosova or ; sr-Cyrl, Косово ), officially the Republic of Kosovo ( sq, Republika e Kosovës, links=no; sr, Република Косово, Republika Kosovo, links=no), is a partially recognised state in Southeast Euro ...
,
Macedonia, and
Bulgaria
Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedon ...
."
Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...
's ''Sunday Herald
The ''Sunday Herald'' was a Scottish Sunday newspaper, published between 7 February 1999 and 2 September 2018. Originally a broadsheet, it was published in compact format from 20 November 2005. The paper was known for having combined a centre- ...
'', March 2, 2003
See also
*
99th Military Base Deveselu
*
Ramstein Air Base
Ramstein Air Base or Ramstein AB is a United States Air Force base in Rhineland-Palatinate, a state in southwestern Germany. It serves as headquarters for the United States Air Forces in Europe – Air Forces Africa (USAFE-AFAFRICA) and also ...
*
Aviano Air Base
Aviano Air Base ( it, Base aerea di Aviano) is a base in northeastern Italy, in the Friuli-Venezia Giulia region. It is located in the Aviano municipality, at the foot of the Carnic Pre-Alps or Southern Carnic Alps, about from Pordenone.
Th ...
*
List of United States military bases
This is a list of military installations owned or used by the United States Armed Forces currently located in the United States and around the world. This list details only current or recently closed facilities; some defunct facilities are f ...
References
External links
*
Order of Battle of the RoAF
{{Romanian Air Force
57
Buildings and structures in Constanța County
1955 establishments in Romania