Five Romanian Air Force F-16 Fighting Falcon aircraft and a US B-52 Stratofortress Strategic Bomber participated in air Exercise South Paw on Monday, 14 September.

The exercise had the goal to strengthen the North-Atlantic reassurance measures in South-Eastern Europe by contributing to the increase of Romania's trust regarding the United States of America's involvement in ensuring regional security.

The exercise was coordinated in the Romanian air space by the Air Operational Component of the Air Force Staff and the United States Air Force Europe (USAFE) and consisted in interception and escort missions conducted with five F-16 Fighting Falcon aircraft of the 86th Air Base Borcea and a US B-52 Stratofortress aircraft.

The participation of the Romanian aircraft in this type of activities allows the training of the personnel in the execution of these missions and contributes to the enhancement of multinational cooperation in the air field by applying common procedures.

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In spite of the challenges currently posed by the COVID-19 pandemics, by the successful conduct of the joint training exercise, the allied forces are fully prepared to execute their missions in all fields, demonstrating involvement and interoperability.

The Press Office