Soldiers of the Paznic Detachment, recently detached at Mihail Kogălniceanu Air Base (Romania), have successfully completed their first flight. With this action, they have demonstrated their capacity and efficiency to fulfil their commitments within the framework of the Enhanced Air Policing mission, eAP-66, as the English acronym indicates. The new detachment, under the national operational control of the Operations Command (MOPS in Spanish), has obtained the certificate required to start its mission.
This air test started with the preparation for a take-off in a maximum time period of 15 minutes as a rapid response to an alert (scramble flight) by two Raznic F-18 fighters of the Air and Space Force deployed in Romanian territory.
Afterwards, and as a reaction to a simulated alarm, both aircrafts took off within the required timeframe in order to carry out subsequently an intercept of an Alenia C-27J Spartan that simulated to have a navigation problem.
After completing the mission, the pilots, as well as the other military personnel and resources, have demonstrated to NATO’s personnel that all remains in its full capabilities to accomplish the tasks assigned to the detachment, which will start the operations in the coming days.
The commitment of the detached force will be to contribute to the strengthening of NATO’s air defence on the eastern flank by supporting air policing missions. To this end, technical, operational and support personnel have been deployed at Mihail Kogălniceanu Air Base, located near the Black Sea.
Through this mission, Spain’s commitment to the Atlantic alliance and to the security of the territories of all the allied countries is evident.