Ceremony marking the graduation of the first series of pilots trained the European F-16 Training Center

The ceremony dedicated to the graduation of the first batch of Romanian pilots trained to operate F-16 aircraft within the European Training Center will take place on Friday, July 26th, at 10:00 a.m., at the 86th Air Base "Lieutenant Aviator Gheorghe Mociorniță", in Borcea.

Media representatives interested in attending the activity are requested to send their identification data (surname, first name, ID series and number , the media institution they represent and their phone number) to email address relpub.um01912@roaf.ro. Accredited journalists will be expected on Friday, July 26th, between 09.00 and 09.30, at 86th Air Base Headquarters.

Point of contact: Second Lieutenant Rebega Florentina, tel. 0759.394.424
***

The center is an international training hub for all the F-16 pilots and facilitates the increase of interoperability among allies.
At the same time, it contributes to the establishment of common operational standards and to strengthening the capacity of the North Atlantic Alliance to face the complex challenges in the Black Sea region and in Eastern Europe. According to the collaboration agreement, the Romanian Ministry of Defence provides to the 86th "Lieutenant Aviator Gheorghe Mociorniță" Air Base, in Fetești, the training facilities and the host nation support, while the Royal Netherlands Air Force provides the F-16 aircraft and the Company Lockheed Martin provides the instructors and maintenance. For the time being, the Romanian pilots are the only ones who are trained at the European F-16 Training Center.

The training of the first seven pilots started in November 2023 and the first flight was executed in January, this year. (https://www.mapn.ro/cpresa/18256_primul-zbor-al-unui-pilot-roman,-in-cadrul-centrului-european-de-instruire-f-16).

The Press Office