Romania launches expansion of air base near Ukraine

CONSTANTA, Romania — The Romanian government has begun a multibillion-euro expansion and modernization project at one of its air bases near Ukraine, where new military equipment will be stored.

Romanian Defence Minister Angel Tîlvăr announced the move June 11 during a ceremony at the Mihail Kogălniceanu Air Base, located less than 200 kilometers (124 miles) from the Ukrainian border.

The project to extend the military base, which has housed U.S. capabilities and forces since 1999, was approved prior to Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

“The reason why Romania decided to extend our capabilities here is the result of when Russia invaded Georgia in 2008 and later on in 2014 in Crimea [when Russia annexed the peninsula]. Our plans have been approved since 2018 for this,” Romanian Air Force Col. Nicolae Cretu, the base commander, told Defense News during the NATO-led exercise Ramstein Legacy held here.

The work will in part involve the construction of a new runway, a guard tower, and additional hangars to protect existing and forthcoming military assets purchased by the Eastern European country. The official estimated the cost associated with the expansion will come to €2.5 billion (U.S. $2.7 billion).

Romania has several ongoing acquisition programs, primarily focused on short-range and very-short-range air defense systems, on which it plans to spend up to $2.1 billion.

A Finnish F/A-18 Hornet is seen on static display at the Mihail Kogalniceanu Air Base in Romania. (Elisabeth Gosselin-Malo/Staff)

It also received two additional Patriot batteries last year, now totaling four, and is partaking in the joint procurement of up to 1,000 Patriot PAC-2 GEM-T missiles under the European Sky Shield Initiative .

The air base’s location has proved highly strategic in recent years, both for Romania and its NATO allies. As an example, the Romanian officer cited the base’s value during the Iraq war, as it was used by allies “to project force outside of their territories and over long distances.”

Romanian media reported the modernization effort involves the construction of a military installation similarly sized to that of Ramstein Air Base in Germany, although the official did not confirm this aspiration.

Given its direct access to the Black Sea and close proximity to Russian territory, the air base has hosted several NATO-run Enhanced Air Policing missions, including this year’s edition, which welcomed the first-ever deployment of Finnish F/A-18 Hornet fighter jets.

Elisabeth Gosselin-Malo was a Europe correspondent for Defense News. She covers a wide range of topics related to military procurement and international security, and specializes in reporting on the aviation sector. She is based in Milan, Italy.

罗马尼亚康斯坦塔——罗马尼亚政府已在其靠近乌克兰的一个空军基地启动了一项耗资数十亿欧元的扩建和现代化项目，该基地将用于存放新的军事装备。

罗马尼亚国防部长安吉尔·蒂尔瓦尔于 6 月 11 日在米哈伊尔·科格尔尼恰努空军基地举行的仪式上宣布了这一举措，该基地距离乌克兰边境不到 200 公里（124 英里）。

该军事基地扩建项目自 1999 年以来一直驻扎着美国的力量和能力，该项目在 2022 年 2 月俄罗斯全面入侵乌克兰之前获得批准。

“罗马尼亚决定在此扩展我们的能力，是因为俄罗斯在2008年入侵格鲁吉亚，以及后来在2014年入侵克里米亚（俄罗斯吞并克里米亚半岛）。我们的相关计划早在2018年就已获得批准，”罗马尼亚空军上校、基地指挥官尼古拉·克雷图在北约主导的“拉姆施泰因遗产”演习期间接受《防务新闻》采访时表示。

这项工程的部分内容包括新建一条跑道、一座瞭望塔以及额外的机库，以保护这个东欧国家现有和即将购置的军事资产。据官方估计，扩建工程的总成本将达到25亿欧元（约合27亿美元）。

罗马尼亚目前有多个采购项目正在进行中，主要集中在短程和超短程防空系统方面，计划为此投入高达 21 亿美元。

一架芬兰F/A-18“大黄蜂”战斗机在罗马尼亚米哈伊尔·科加尔尼恰努空军基地进行静态展示。（伊丽莎白·戈斯林-马洛/摄）

去年，该国还接收了两套额外的“爱国者”导弹系统，现在总共有四套。该国正在参与欧洲天空之盾计划，联合采购多达 1000 枚“爱国者”PAC-2 GEM-T 导弹。

近年来，该空军基地的地理位置对罗马尼亚及其北约盟国都具有极高的战略意义。例如，这位罗马尼亚军官指出，该基地在伊拉克战争期间发挥了重要作用，盟国利用它“将兵力投射到其领土之外的远距离”。

罗马尼亚媒体报道称，现代化建设计划包括建造一座规模与德国拉姆施泰因空军基地类似的军事设施，但官方并未证实这一说法。

由于该空军基地直接通往黑海，并且靠近俄罗斯领土，因此它曾多次执行北约主导的加强空中警戒任务，包括今年的任务，芬兰F/A-18“大黄蜂”战斗机首次部署到该基地。

伊丽莎白·戈斯林-马洛曾任《防务新闻》欧洲通讯员。她的报道涵盖军事采购和国际安全等广泛领域，尤其擅长航空领域的报道。她常驻意大利米兰。