The implementation of the decisions adopted at Warsaw in order to consolidate the allied defence and deterrence posture, the cooperation between the Romanian and American Air Forces and the recent evolution of the international security environment were the main topics on agenda of the meeting held on April 11, at the MoND headquarters, between defence minister Gabriel Les and the chief of General Staff, General Nicolae Ciuca and General Tod D. Wolters, Commander of Allied Air Command headquartered in Ramstein and of US Air Forces in Europe (USAFE).

Minister Les and General Wolters evaluated the progress made in implementing the air dimension of NATO's forward presence in the Southern part of the Eastern Flank of the Alliance as well as in intensifying the participation of the US and other allied states' air forces in the air policing missions and exercises conducted in Romania and in the Black Sea region. General Wolters reiterated the commitment to consolidate the presence of the allied air capabilities in the region for the following years with a view of generating the adequate response capacity to the threats posed to the collective defence.

The defence minister presented the modernization and equipping priorities of our armed forces and emphasized the importance of enhancing the Romanian-American collaboration in the technical and military fields. In this context, the Romanian part thanked for the support given by the US in modernizing the Air Force capabilities through the F-16 aircraft acquisition program and other air defence-capability procurement programs that are currently being run or developed.

Romania's and USA's contribution to the air component within the forward presence on NATO's Eastern flank, the Romanian Armed Forces' missions - with focus on the adaptation efforts to the current threats posed to the security environment - and the major bilateral and multinational exercises that will be conducted this year on national territory in order to increase the operations' interoperability during air-lift and air-support missions were some of the subjects approached during the talks with the chief of General Staff.

Press Department