Construction work has begun to expand the existing Romanian 57th Air Base, at Mihail Kogălniceanu, to become the largest NATO military base in Europe at a cost of around €2.5 billion ($2.7 billion), Euronews reported on March 16. Once complete the base will be the size of a small city, covering an area of almost 3,000 hectares and a total perimeter of 30 kilometers.
Nicolae Crețu, current commander of air base 57 told Euronews that the expanded facility will include “Maintenance hangars, fuel stores, ammunition, equipment, aviation technical materials, simulators, feeding facilities, accommodation, everything that is needed to support the operation and missions of a base of this size.”
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The project is designed to permanently host up to 10,000 NATO soldiers and their families. As well as including new runways, weapons platforms, hangars for military aircraft, it will also provide support for service personnel’s families by way of schools, kindergartens, shops and a hospital.
This new project follows on from earlier improvements to air bases in Romania with almost $300 million spent at Air Base 71 near Campia Turzii, a training facility at Cincu, and Mihail Kogălniceanu.
Romania has become a strategic focal point for both the US and NATO as it seeks to strengthen the ability to carry out operations in the region. In addition to fighter aircraft operating from both Base 71 and 75, the US Air Force also routinely flies MQ-9 Reaper drones from Campia Turzii, providing increased surveillance capability close to Romania’s border with Ukraine and the Black Sea.
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In November Romania opened the European F-16 Training Center (EFTC) at the Gheorghe Mociorniță Air Base in Feteşti. It is there that Ukrainian, Romanian and other NATO nations’ pilots will be trained to fly the US F-16 aircraft.
Dorin Popescu, a Romanian military and political analyst said “The Mihail Kogălniceanu base will become the most important permanent NATO military structure in the immediate vicinity of the conflict in Ukraine. It’s unlikely that this conflict will end this year, in 2025, or in 2026. It’s likely to be a long-term conflict.”
Crețu, said: “In addition to the existing capabilities of the 57th Air Base… we are also designing the necessary infrastructure to be able to host and support ground capabilities, for special operations or any other type of military capability which is necessary to provide a response in the current security context.”
The Mihail Kogălniceanu air base currently hosts approximately 5,000 US and Romanian personnel.
A US spokesperson said: “These projects help ensure the bases can support operations of US and NATO aircraft and crews, now and in the near future.”
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