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 ...

93rd Air Base ( ro, Baza 93 Aeriană), also known as Giarmata Air Base, was an air base located in the commune Giarmata, near

Timișoara ), City of Roses ( ro, Orașul florilor), City of Parks ( ro, Orașul parcurilor) , image_map = Timisoara jud Timis.svg , map_caption = Location in Timiș County , pushpin_map = Romania#Europe , pushpin_ ...

, at the

Traian Vuia International Airport Trajan ( ; la, Caesar Nerva Traianus; 18 September 539/11 August 117) was Roman emperor from 98 to 117. Officially declared ''optimus princeps'' ("best ruler") by the senate, Trajan is remembered as a successful soldier-emperor who presi ...

. The base was disbanded in August 2004 due to 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 ...

reorganisation program and the retirement of the

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 which were based here. The military sector of the Traian Vuia International Airport is currently an annex of the 71st Air Base hosting the 712th Helicopter Squadron (operating IAR-330M). The base is also home to the 142nd Reconnaissance Squadron (officially the 142nd Unmanned Aircraft Squadron, operating

Shadow 600 The Honda Shadow VT600C, also known as the Honda Shadow VLX, is a cruiser motorcycle made by Honda from 1988 through 2008. It has a liquid cooled V-twin engine, a four-speed transmission, 35° rake, chain drive, and a single-shock softail-style r ...

drones).

History

Cold War

The base was established in 1953 as the 93rd Aviation Regiment (''Regimentul 93 Aviație''), following the transfer of an existing unit from

Ianca Ianca () is a town in Brăila County, Muntenia, Romania. At the 2002 census, the town had a population of 12,886 people, making it Brăila County's second-largest urban locality. History The first mention of the town dates to 1834. It official ...

. At that time, the regiment 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 ...

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 traine ...

aircraft. Following this transfer, the base was overhauled and from 1954

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 ...

fighters began their missions at the base. In 1955, the first

MiG-15 The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15 (russian: Микоя́н и Гуре́вич МиГ-15; USAF/DoD designation: Type 14; NATO reporting name: Fagot) is a jet fighter aircraft developed by Mikoyan-Gurevich for the Soviet Union. The MiG-15 was one of ...

s entered service with the regiment, and in 1959 the regiment changed its name to the 93rd Fighter Aviation Regiment. In 1962, the regiment received MiG-21F-13 fighters. These were brought by

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

pilots from the Deveselu Air Base (at that time the 91st Fighter Aviation Regiment). Pilots were transferred from

Craiova Craiova (, also , ), is Romania's 6th Cities in Romania, largest city and capital of Dolj County, and situated near the east bank of the river Jiu River, Jiu in central Oltenia. It is a longstanding political center, and is located at approximatel ...

and Deveselu air bases to operate the new jets. Starting in 1968, the regiment began taking part in escort missions for presidential planes. In 1972, the 31st Reconnaissance Squadron (''Escadrila 31 Aviație Cercetare''), independent from the 91st Regiment and equipped with MiG-21R aircraft was established. The first

fighters arrived at the base in 1979.

Post-1990

By 1992, the 93rd Regiment had two squadrons equipped with MiG-23 and one with MiG-21. In 1995, the regiment was transformed into the 93rd Air Base following the restructuring of the Air Force and the abandoning of the communist-era regimental system. The 31st Squadron was disbanded in 1998, while in 1999, the first

MiG-21 LanceR This is a list of variants and specifications for variants of the Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21, which differed considerably between models. Variants All information in this section adapted from ''MiG-21'' (2008).Gordon, Yefim. ''Mikoyan MiG-21'' (Fa ...

s arrived at the base. In 1996, the base hosted the

USAF Thunderbirds The USAF Air Demonstration Squadron ("Thunderbirds") is the air demonstration squadron of the United States Air Force The Thunderbirds are assigned to the 57th Wing, and are based at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada. Created in 1953, the USAF Th ...

, Giarmata being the start location for their 30-day European tour. In 2000, it hosted the largest air show of western Romania on the 90th anniversary of

Aurel Vlaicu Aurel Vlaicu (; 19 November 1882 – 13 September 1913) was a Romanian engineer, inventor, airplane constructor and early pilot.Gheorghiu, 1960 Early years and education Aurel Vlaicu was born in the village of Binținți in Transylvania, Aust ...

's first flight with the

A Vlaicu I The A Vlaicu I was the first powered airplane built by Aurel Vlaicu. Design and development After flying his glider in Binţinţi, Aurel Vlaicu moved to the Kingdom of Romania. On November 1, 1909, he began the construction of his first powere ...

. Following the disbanding of the 73rd Helicopter Group from

Caransebeș Caransebeș (; german: Karansebesch; hu, Karánsebes, Hungarian pronunciation: ) is a municipiu, city in Caraș-Severin County, part of the Banat region in southwestern Romania. It is located at the confluence of the Timiș (river), River Timiș ...

, its helicopters were moved to Giarmata. After the MiG-23s were retired, the 93rd Air Base was disbanded on 31 August 2004 with the official ceremony taking place in September. The remaining MiG-21s from the base were redistributed to other bases. Currently, the base retains the

AN/FPS-117 The AN/FPS-117 is an L-band active electronically scanned array (AESA) 3-dimensional air search radar first produced by GE Aerospace in 1980 and now part of Lockheed Martin. The system offers instrumented detection at ranges on the order of and h ...

radar system, and is also an annex of the 71st Air Base, hosting the 712th Helicopter Squadron. The 142nd Unmanned Aircraft Squadron established in 1998, is also located at the base. On 23 April 2023, it was announced that the

Bayraktar TB2 The Bayraktar TB2 is a medium-altitude long-endurance (MALE) unmanned combat aerial vehicle (UCAV) capable of remotely controlled or autonomous flight operations. It is manufactured by the Turkish company Baykar Makina Sanayi ve Ticaret A.Ş ...

drones purchased for the

Romanian Land Forces The Romanian Land Forces ( ro, Forțele Terestre Române) is the army of Romania, and the main component of the Romanian Armed Forces. In recent years, full professionalisation and a major equipment overhaul have transformed the nature of the Lan ...

are to be delivered to the 93rd Air Base.

External links

*
Order of Battle of the RoAF
*

References

{{Romanian Air Force units and formations Romanian Air Force bases Buildings and structures in Timiș County 1953 establishments in Romania Military units and formations disestablished in 2004 2004 disestablishments in Romania