Finnish F/A-18 Hornet Jets. Photo and video: Instagram @ilmavoimat
On June 3, seven Finnish F/A-18 Hornet fighter jets landed at the Mihail Kogălniceanu Air Base near Constanța, Romania.
+ Click here to watch the video of the Finnish F/A-18 Hornet jets
This inaugural deployment is part of NATO’s Air Policing mission and will see Finnish fighter jets conducting training and real missions along the eastern flank on the Black Sea coast, as announced in a press release.
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“Our goal here in Romania is to enhance our integration into NATO’s Air Power, strengthening and deepening our cooperation with the Royal Air Force and the Romanian Air Force,” said Lieutenant Colonel Rami Lindström, the first commander of the Finnish detachment at Mihail Kogălniceanu. He emphasized that for two months, Finnish jets will join a detachment of Typhoons from the Royal Air Force (RAF) and will perform quick reaction alert service, flying alongside Romanian F-16s to collectively protect NATO airspace and ensure the safety of the Romanian population.
The Finnish detachment has already conducted air-to-air refueling operations with F/A-18 jets and a German A400M en route to Romania. This cooperation is part of NATO’s ongoing efforts to strengthen deterrence and defense in peacetime through Air Policing and Air Policing missions.
NATO’s Air Policing and Air Policing missions aim to ensure the integrity of allied airspace.
The Air Policing mission involves increased presence of fighter aircraft and ground-based air defense units in NATO member countries bordering Ukraine.
The tasks of the fighter detachments participating in the mission include quick reaction alert duties, patrol flights under the command of NATO’s integrated air and missile defense, as well as exercise activities and maintenance of the Alliance’s collective deterrence.
Comprising seven Finnish F/A-18 Hornet fighter jets and fewer than 100 aviators, the detachment’s primary goal will be to achieve full operational readiness. Alongside RAF Typhoons, they will participate in NATO’s Ramstein Legacy exercise in June, focusing on Integrated Air and Missile Defense (IAMD), providing further opportunities to increase interoperability in the Allied Air Command’s main exercise.
Source: puolustusvoimat. Photo and video: Instagram @ilmavoimat. This content was created with the assistance of AI and reviewed by the editorial team.
