Since the demise of the Ceausescu regime inDecember 1989, Romania has emerge dfrom being a communist dictatorship to a

well-respected and integrated member of NATOand the European Union. Its commitment to amanifold of international peacekeeping missionsand participation in many NATO Partnership forPeace and bilateral exercises clearly illustratesRomania’s ambition to not only be a trusty part-ner to NATO and Europe, but to be an integralpart of it.

The first steps towards reaching this goalwe re taken when Romania joined thePa rt n e rship for Peace (PfP) pro gramme on 26 January 1994, being the first former easternEuropean country to do so. Ten years later,Romania joined the North Atlantic Tre a t yOrganization (NATO) on 29 March 2004, thesame day that Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Slovenia,Slovakia and Bulgaria acceded to the alliance.

As a result of cl ever decision-making byRomania’s political and military leadership, the

Air Force has been transformed into a well-trained and modern air arm allowing for asmooth transition into the new millennium.Making use of Israeli technology, an impressiveupgrade of a substantial part of its large MiG-21fleet was successfully completed, while apply-ing the same advanced tech n o l o gy helpedcreate the indigenous IAR-99C Soim that is nowarguably the most modern European jet trainerin operational service. Technology also trans-formed a portion of the licence-built Puma fleetinto the formidable IAR-330 SOCAT attack heli-copter.

However, with five active airbases remaining,the Romanian Air Force has reached the pointthat, after years of continuous restructuring andoptimisation of its forces, new modern aircraftare needed to replace the fleet of weary trans-port aircraft and fighters.

With the delivery of the first of seven orderedC-27 Spartans as a replacement for the An-24 andAn-26 imminent, strategic airlift is receiving thenecessary boost as it is considered one of theemerging areas of specialisation in Romania’smilitary. The long-awaited decision over whichmulti-role fighter aircraft will be replacing thec u rrent f leet of MiG-21 Lancers is now

2

AIR POWER ANALYSIS

Fortele AerieneRomaneSince its emergence from the Communist era, Romania has joinedNATO and become an important partner in the alliance’sactivities. The air force is still in a period of transformation,which will only be completed when new fighters are purchased.

Apart from a few Alouette IIIs surviving in the trainingrole, the FAR’s rotary-wing requirements are metentirely by versions of the IAR-330 Puma. This exampleis configured for the air ambulance mission.

Main picture: Three-tone upper-surfacecamouflage distinguishes the LanceR A attackaircraft from the LanceR C air-defender. Here oneflies with one of 14 two-seat LanceR Bs.

Below left: The LanceR family is the backbone ofthe Romanian air force. Despite having capablesystems, the LanceR is becoming increasinglydifficult and expensive to maintain, and the needfor a new fighter is becoming urgent.

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temporarily shelved as the global economiccrisis has hit Romania.

Birth of an air forceRomania has a rich and colourful history in

the field of aviation. It is one of the few coun-tries in the world to have indigenously designed,built and fl own va rious types of airc ra f t .Romania’s aviation history began as far back as1529 with the work of Conrad Haas,who is seenas the father of the multi-stage rocket as hewrote about the construction of such conceptsand tested many models in f l i g h t .In 1893 a balloon observation unit was estab-lished under the 1st Te l e gra p hy Commandwithin the 1st Engineers Regiment, as the firstmilitary air unit of the Romanian Army.

M o re aviation history was written whenHenry Coanda built the world’s first jet aircraft,named the Coanda-1910. He tested his enginenear Pa ris and showed it at the 1910I n t e rnational A e ronautical Show in Pa ri s .Unfortunately, the first jet flight itself ended in acrash when, on 16 December that year, theaircraft slipped, fell and burned out.Unknown tomost, Coanda took over the technical manage-ment of the Bristol aircraft factories in the

United Kingdom in 1911 and became theconstructor of the first twin-engined aircraft inthe history of aviation.

Another famous Romanian Aviation pioneerwas Aurel Vlaicu, who constructed the firstp ropelled airc raft to be entire ly built inRomania. He had learned to fly himself and tookoff for the first time on 17 June 1910. Nowadaysthis day is celebrated as the birthday of theRomanian Air Force.The autumn of 1910 saw thebeginning of the military use of aviation, at theoccasion of the Royal manoeuvres, which putRomania in second place (after France) in theuse of the aeroplane for military purposes.

On 1 April 1913 the Romanian Parliamentbegan structuring laws for military aviation,thereby paving the way for the Air Force as anindependent branch. Romania became the fifthnation in the world to have an independent AirFo rce (albeit part of the A rmy ’s Engi n e e rsCommand).The Romanian Air Force had at least18 aircraft in the Second Balkan War (June-August 1913) and on 15 August 1915 theRomanian Flying Corps – 305 Corpul AerianRoman – was established with three groups anda squadron for special missions. The Corpsperformed air reconnaissance missions duringWorld War I and even won several victories

Right: There are still reminders of Romania’s Communistpast, such as the handful of Antonov An-2s in FARservice. The ‘Annushka’ is used in the training role fortransport pilots.

against the German Luftwaffe, but finally disinte-grated as the country was overrun by Austro-German forces.

After the war, a new air arm was establishedin 1918, named the Divizia 1 Aeriana (1st AirDivision), reporting to the Directorate of ArmyAv i a t i o n . T h e re was a significant influx ofRomanian aircraft coming from the productionlines as seven Romanian aircraft factories –Aeronautic Arsenal, SET and ICAR in Bucharest,STC in Constanta,ASTRA in Arad, Schiell and IARin Brasov – produced more than 2,000 militaryand civil aircraft in 80 different models, employ-ing great numbers of engineers and technicians.

During World War II, Romania first sided withGermany and its Axis allies when the countrybecame a part of the Axis Tripartite Pact inNovember 1940. Many of its aircraft, however,were obsolete at the start of the war but, withGerman help, the air force was able to re-organise itself as the Fortele Aeriene Regale aleRomaniei (Royal Romanian Air Force), flyingaircraft of German and Italian design such as theFo cke - Wulf Fw 190, Ju n ke rs Ju 87, H e i n kel He 111, Messerschmitt Bf 109, Savoia-Marchetti SM. 62 and SM.79, as well as indigenously-builtaircraft, such as the IAR 37 and 80.

The Royal Romanian Air Force fought againstthe Magyar Királyi Honvéd Légierö (HungarianAir Force) during the Hungarian annexation ofTra n s y l va n i a , while fighting alongside theGerman Luftwaffe during the advance into theUkraine and Crimea. It also carried out somereconnaissance and patrol missions over theBlack Sea alongside Bulgarian units.

The Royal Romanian Air Force was also taskedwith the air defence of the Ploiesti oil installa-tions, the city of Bucharest against Allied airraids, and to protect Axis convoys in the BlackSea, fighting against the USAAF and RAF duringtheir raids against Romania.The anti-fascist coup

d’etat led by King Michael I on 23 August 1944took the Germans completely by surprise andattempts were made to move German troopsinto Bucharest by air, but as the Romanians heldall the serviceable airfields, the operation wasc a n c e l l e d . The country swapped sides, w i t hRomanian forces joining the Allied powers andspending the rest of the war fighting for thel i b e ration of Tra n s y l va n i a , H u n g a ry,Czechoslovakia and Austria.

Post-war air forceIn 1946, the prefix ‘Royal’ was dropped and

the Fo rtele A e riene ale Republicii Po p u l a reRomane (Pe o p l e ’s Republic of Romania A i rForce) was reorganised following the Sovietoccupation of Romania. It was structured alongSoviet lines with regiments instead of flotillas.

In 1950 new Soviet aircraft were introducedsuch the Iak (Yak)-18, Po-2, La-9,Tu-2 and Il-10. In1951 eight regiments (Regimentul Aviatie deVanatoare Reactie) were established under thecommand of three divisions (Divizia Aviatie deVanatoare Reactie), together with some support-and training regiments. Some 77 Iak-17s andIak-23s were added to the air force inventoryand, in 1952, another 88 aircraft arrived in thefo rm of MiG-15, MiG-15bis and Avia S-102s(Czech-built MiG-15s).

Three years after Romania became a memberof the Warsaw Pact in 1955, Soviet troops left.Atthis point the Romanian Military Air Fo rc eCommand included five air divisions and onetechnical division: the 97th Air Division, 23rdand 66th Fighter Divisions, 68th Air Stri keD i v i s i o n , 87th Air Mixed Division and 34thTechnical Division. The official designation ofthe air force was changed to Aviatia Militara(Military Aviation) and, in 1956, the Territorial AirDefence Command was established as a result ofa new restructuring process ordered by theSoviets, which was operated until May 1977. In1958, the first supersonic fighter – the MiG-19 –entered service, followed four years later byMiG-21F-13s. In 1956 the first helicopter unitwas establ i s h e d , flying four Soviet-made Mil

Mi-4s and, from 1962 onwards, the PZL-SwidnikSM-2, a larger Polish-built variant of the Mi-1.

Resurgent industryIn the 1960s and 1970s, Romania managed to

restore its military aviation industry to its pre-World War II position as one of the few coun-t ries having a national aviation industry. I tobtained licences for the production of someWestern types.The Soviet Union cooperated toan extent, but also tried to confine Romania toproducing relatively unsophisticated aircraft at alower level of aviation technology. Following theS oviet invasion of Czech o s l ovakia in 1968,Romania tried to distance itself from the SovietUnion and aligned itself with Czechoslovakiaand Yugoslavia. Romania also established exten-sive ties with several Western and non-WarsawPact countries, undertaking licensed productionof foreign aircraft. The Britten-Norman BN-2Islander and BAC 1-11 airliner, A é rospatiale SA 316B Alouette III and SA 330H/L Puma heli-copters were all built under license in Romania.

A major development and production projectfor Romania’s aviation industry was the YUROMproject, in which Yugoslavia and Romania coop-erated in developing and manufacturing theIAR-93/J-22 Orao fighter-bomber, the only non-Soviet jet fighter ever built and flown in the airforce of a Warsaw Pact member state.

The Romanian single-seat prototype made itsfirst flight on 31 October 1974 at Bacau (simul-t a n e o u s ly with the Yu go s l av prototype atBatajnica Air Base) and during the early 1980s,the 67th Fighter-Bomber Regiment and 49thFighter-Bomber Regiment from Cra i ova andIanca, respectively, were equipped with the newIAR-93 attack aircraft to replace aging MiG-15sand MiG-17s.

As of 1989, the Air Force had approximately32,000 personnel under its command, of whichfewer than one third were conscripts. With ani nve n t o ry of some 512 combat airc ra f t , i t sprimary mission was protecting and supportingR o m a n i a ’s ground fo rces and defending thecountry against a possible invasion by providing

4

Romania has built up a sizeable and capable transportfleet, of which the Lockheed C-130 Hercules is thebackbone. All of the Hercules have been upgraded to anequivalent C-130H standard.

transport, reconnaissance and helicopters assetsto the battle. Divided into three tactical divi-sions, each division was composed of two regi-ments each with two or three squadrons ofinterceptors and one squadron of ground-attackaircraft, operating mainly Soviet-made MiG-21sand MiG-23s, but some MiG-15s were still avail-able as well as a large number of IAR-93 Oraos.

Finally, in December 1989, just a few daysb e fo re the revolution against Ceausescu’sregime began, the first four MiG-29s arrived inRomania with the first training flights starting inMarch of 1990.

New dawn for RomaniaShortly after the fall of the regime of Nicolae

Ceausescu in December 1989, the Romanian AirForce received its current name Fortele AerieneRomane. During the first half of the 1990s verylittle changed other than the scrapping of largenumbers of obsolete jetfighters that had been instorage. Additional new-build MiG-29 (9-12 and9-51) ‘Fulcrums’ were delivered from Russia, andin June 1995 the Communist-era regimentalsystem was changed into a structure consistingof air bases, groups and squadrons.

Tactical fighter units were designated as BazaA e riana de Aviatie Va n a t o a re si Va n a t o a reBombardament (fighter and fighter-bomber airbase), in control of all assets including theGrupul Aviatie Vanatoare (fighter air group) withone or two Escadrila (squadrons) assigned to it.Fighter-bomber units were designated as BazaAeriana de Aviatie Vanatoare Bombardament forthe base, and Grupul Aviatie de Va n a t o a re -Bombardament for the group.

Romania was the first eastern European coun-t ry to join the Pa rt n e rship for Peace (PfP)programme on 26 January 1994.Ten years later,Romania joined the North Atlantic Tre a t yOrganization (NATO) on 29 March 2004. Thesame day, the air fo rce began air-policingmissions under NATO command.

MiG-21 fleet modernisationRomanian foreign policy since the 1990s has

clearly been focused on joining NATO, whichmeant that its equipment had to be compatiblewith Western technology. As Romania did nothave the financial means to acquire new aircraft,the government realised it was left with oneoption,and that was to upgrade its existing fleet.After encountering increasing problems acquir-ing spare parts for the MiG-29 fl e e t , t h eRomanian AF decided to invest in the upgrade ofthe most numerous fighter in its inventory – theMiG-21 ‘Fishbed’, of which over 200 were stillaround by 1990.

The tender was issued in 1992 and, after acompetition in which several companies show-cased their upgrade proposals,Elbit of Israel wasawarded the contract to become the systemsintegrator.The program was originally dubbed asthe ‘DD’ programme in tribute to the Romanianpoet Doru Davidovici who had been a MiG-21

5

The Antonov An-26 served the FAR well for many years,and a few remain in use for tactical transport duties. Aswith other Soviet-supplied aircraft, they are indesperate need of replacement, which will shortlyarrive in the form of the Alenia C-27J.

A one-off oddity in the FAR’s inventroy is the AntonovAn-30. Based on an An-26 airframe, the ‘Clank’ isoutfitted for aerial survey and mapping, and is used forOpen Skies duties.

pilot killed in a crash in a MiG-21UM trainer, butwas later re-named LanceR, with a capital ‘R’ tounderline its Romanian origin.

Among the ava i l able airc ra f t , l ow - h o u rMiG-21M and MiG-21MF airframes were selectedfor the upgrade and the US$300 million contracti n i t i a l ly included 75 LanceR A air-to-gro u n dconversions, 25 LanceR C air-to-air versions and10 LanceR B trainers.The number of LanceR Bswas later increased to 14 while the number ofLanceR As decreased by four to 71 conversions.One additional MiG-21MF was converted toLanceR C as an attrition replacement.

Every LanceR that has been delivered to theRomanian Air Force has not only been strippeddown, but also completely overhauled beforethe process of upgrading got under way. Thisoverhaul and upgrade process took five monthsper aircraft on average, with the biggest chal-lenge being to bring them all to the same stan-

dard. Not only were there engine differences(Tumanskii R-11 and R-13, and Gavrilov R-25),but MiG-21s are even different within the sub-types (different engines harnesses,wiring w thinthe wings and internal structure).

LanceR takes to the airThe LanceR A is the ground attack version of

the LanceR and the prototype flew for the firsttime on 22 August 1995.A total of 71 LanceR Aa i rc raft was delive red to the Romanian air force from 1996 onwards, with the LanceR Aconversions being drawn from a pool of 34M i G-2 1 M s , 30 MiG-21MFs and seve nMiG-21MF-75 aircraft.

LanceR A is equipped with the EltaEL/M-2001B radar. The cockpit has been re-designed around the Hands-On-Thro t t l e - A n d -Stick (HOTAS) principle and has a single MFD inthe cockpit (with provisions for a second).Using

the controls at his fingertips, the pilot canc o n t rol all display menu s , update steeri n gpoints, designate targets and select aim points.Via a PCMCIA card, mission data such as routes,t a rge t s , way p o i n t s , f requencies and we a p o n sdetails can be uploaded from the Data TransferSystem (DTS). After the mission the system canbe used to download data for debriefing andmaintenance purposes. Another intere s t i n gfeature is the onboard Video Tape Recorder( V T R ) , w h i ch can simu l t a n e o u s ly tape bothMFDs (LanceR C only) or one MFD and theHUD, and thus provide valuable flight data formission debri e fing and fl i g h t - t e s t i n g . B e s i d e simages, the VTR also records all communication.

Another unique feature to the LanceR is theElbit DASH helmet-mounted display, making theMiG-21 LanceR the world’s first widely usedoperational aircraft to incorporate the HMD(helmet-mounted display system). It has been inactive service since 1996. Apart from missile-aiming and target-cueing functions, the DASHcan display primary flight information such asairspeed, angle-of-attack and waypoints. Helmet-mounted sights have now been in service onMiG-29s and Su-27s for some years, and but it isonly now that such systems are becoming morecommonplace in Western fighters. The LanceR,however, was equipped with this feature rightfrom the start.

It was also one of the very first aircraft in theworld capable to operate weapons of bothE a s t e rn and We s t e rn ori gi n , and perfo rmex t re m e ly accurate attacks with both ‘ i ro n ’bombs and precision-guided we a p o n s . T h eLanceR has demonstrated a circular-error-proba-bility (CEP) accuracy of 7 mil/radian and below,while maintaining a one- to two-metre CEP withlaser-guided weapons.The aircraft is also clearedfor asymmetric loading of weapons.

6

Left: Prospective LanceR pilots convert to type on theLanceR B two-seater. Its front cockpit is similar to thatof the LanceR A attack aircraft.

D u ring the modernisation pro c e s s , t h eLancers were equipped with new features toimprove flight safety, including support for nightflight and all-weather operations with the use ofmore advanced navigation equipment, such asVOR/ILS, INS and ADF.

Fighters and trainersThe two-seat training version of the LanceR

was dubbed LanceR B, and the prototype flewfor the first time on 6 May 1996. It carries thesame camouflage pattern as the LanceR A andalso has a single MFD in the cockpit.The initialorder for 10 LanceR B trainers was modified to14 aircraft in the year 2000.

The dedicated air-to-air variant of the LanceRtook to the air on 6 November 1996. Initially 25conversions were ordered but, due to the crashof an example during an air test with Aerostar,one extra aircraft was converted. Named LanceRC, it carries the Elta EL/M-2032 Doppler radar,which is more capable than the Elta EL/M-2001Bradar as installed in the LanceR A.This radar hasseveral air-to-air and air-to ground modes, and isre p o rt e d ly capable of detecting fi g h t e r - s i z e dt a rgets at ra n ges of 50-60 kilometres (31-37 miles). It can track eight independenttargets while searching for another ten.To fullyuse these capabilities, a new radome had to bedeveloped which was painted black, while theLanceR-C exterior carries a remarkable three-tone white/grey camouflage scheme.

LanceR C conversions were drawn from thepool of 25 MiG-21MF-75s and one MiG-21MFaircraft. Modifications have been introduced tothe cockpit configuration, avionics architecture

and weapons systems, e n abling the MiG-21LanceR to compete with much costlier fightersand to make the transition to Western standards.The upgrade programme retained the existingairframe, which was retrofitted with an avionicssuite and new weapons integrated around twoMIL STD 1553B multiplex data buses, includinga Modular Multi-Role Computer, DASH (displayand sight helmet), HUD (head-up display), Multi-Function Display and Multifunction ColourD i s p l ay, H y b rid Navigation System,I L S / VO R / D M E , M a rconi ADC (air datacomputer),VHF/ UHF radio,RWR (radar warningre c e i ve r ) , ch a ff and fl a re dispensers , Elta EL/M-2001B ranging radar (Lancer A/B) or EltaEL/M-2032 multi-mode radar with look-down/shoot-down capability (Lancer C), DTS(data transfer system), flight data recorder, IFFtransponder (NATO Mk 10 IFF-compatible) andHOTAS.

The underwing hardpoints were adapted tocarry Eastern and Western weapon systems suchas the Elta EL/L-8222R electronic countermea-sures pod,Rafael Litening LDP (laser designationp o d ) , E l b i t / A e rostar A i r b o rne ReconnaissancePod (photo ceconnaissance pod) and a variety

of smart weapons such as the Rafael Griffinlaser-guided bomb (LGB), Lizard LGB and OpherIR-guided bomb. Dumb bombs and cl u s t e rbombs include the Mk 82, Mk 83, FAB-100,FAB-250, FAB-500, BEM-100 and CL-250. For airdefence the LanceR can carry several differentair-to-air missiles, such as the R-73, R-60, R-3S,R-13M, MBDA Magic II and Rafael Python 3.Finally, the LanceR can also be equipped withunguided rockets, which are carried in UB-16-57or UB-32-57 rocket launchers, or as single largecalibre rockets such as the S-24.The delivery ofthe last LanceR took place in April 2003.

IAR-99 Soim In 1975, the Aviation Institute (INCREST) in

Bucharest started what would be the first jettrainer fully designed and built in Romania,intended to replace the Aero L-29 Delfin inservice with the Romanian air force. In 1979funding was approved for I.R.Av Craiova to buildthe fi rst airc ra f t , and the IAR-99 pro t o t y p e(S-001) flew on 21 December 1985.The aircraftentered series production in 1987 and by 198917 aircraft had been delivered to the Romanianair force.

7

Above: Twenty-five LanceR C conversions wereundertaken to equip two air defence squadrons. Theaircraft defend Romanian airspace, and have also beenused on the Baltic air policing detachment.

Right: The LanceR A is the most numerous combat type,with 71 delivered. It specialises in the delivery ofprecision-guided weapons.

However, even if the aircraft proved to haveexcellent aerodynamic and handling qualities, itwas left behind in its class because of theoutdated onboard avionics and a first upgradeattempt was made in 1990 by I.R.Av Craiovatogether with Texas-based company JaffeAircraftC o r p o ra t i o n . Two airc raft we re modified byinstalling additional instrumentation, as well assome Honeywell avionics, and the aircraft wasdeclared as an intention to enter the competi-tion for the Joint Pri m a ry A i rc raft Tra i n i n gSystem programme in the US.This, however, didnot come to fruition.

IAR-109 SwiftIn 1992 a new upgrade programme was initi-

ated together with IAI Lahav of Israel, bringingone aircraft to the new IAR-109 Swift standard. Itwas intended for Romanian air force service aswell as for export. The aircraft was equippedwith HOTAS (hands on throttle and stick )c o n t rols in both cock p i t s , wide-angle HUD(head-up display) with UFCP (upfront controlpanel) in the front cockpit, two 3-in displays inboth cockpits, ring laser gyro inertial navigationsystem (INS), as well as the integration of bothEastern and Western weapon systems on theaircraft.The aircraft was displayed at Le Bourgetin 1993, but a year later the programme wascancelled.

Fo l l owing the successful upgrade of theRomanian MiG-21 fleet, the Romanian Ministryof Defence awa rded a contract to Av i o a n eCraiova SA and Elbit Systems for the productionof eight IAR-99C Soim (falcon) advanced jettrainers.The contract followed a previous orderfor the upgrade of four IAR-99 Standard aircraftto Soim for the Romanian air force, to becomethe lead-in fighter trainer aircraft for those pilotsdestined to fly the MiG-21 LanceR. The firstupgraded IAR-99C Soim was the 18th IAR-99Standard production aircraft, which performedits first flight on 22 May 1997.The first aircraftentered operational service at Boboc for schoolduties on 25 October 1988.

Powe red by a Tu r b o m e c a n i c a / R o l l s - R oy c eViper 632-41M turbojet engine, the IAR-99C hastandem stepped dual-control cock p i t s , e a chequipped with a Martin Baker Mk 10 ‘zero-zero’ejection seat. The cockpit is equipped with

H OTAS controls and the front cockpit isequipped with one liquid crystal and one cath-ode ray tube multi-function display, and a head-up display with an upfront control panel(HUD/UFCP).The instructor’s station in the rearcockpit is fitted with two CRT multifunctiondisplays, of which one functions as the instruc-t o r ’s aft station head-up display monitor(ASHUDM). Both the pilot and the instructor areequipped with the Elbit Systems DASH displayand sight helmet, which is also used by theMiG-21 LanceR community and a range of otherfighter aircraft. The helmet slaves the onboardweapons systems to the pilot’s line of sight.Thevisor’s display confirms when target acquisitionhas been achieved. The visor also displays thedata from the HUD.

Advanced avionicsElbit Systems had been contracted to supply

the aircraft’s advanced avionics suite installed ona Mil Standard 1553B data bus.The suite, includ-ing communications, navigation and identifica-tion systems, and the cockpit configuration, aresimilar to those of the MiG-21 LanceR and F-16fighter aircraft.

As in the LanceR, the IAR-99 Soim is equippedwith video and debriefing systems.The commu-nication systems include VHF and UHF commu-n i c a t i o n s , a vo i c e - a c t i vated intercom and anidentification friend or foe transponder. Theflight systems include a VOR/ILS, a VHF omnidirectional radio ranger linked to the instrumentlanding system. Other navigation tools includedistance-measuring equipment (DME), an auto-matic dire c t i o n - finder (ADF), a Nort h ro pG rumman inertial navigation system and aTrimble global positioning system.The avionicssuite includes a data transfer unit, a uniquefeature that creates a virtual radar image of a realor imaginary aircraft for display to the traineepilot in the front cockpit.

The Romanian air force has selected theA d vanced Combat Training System (AC T S )produced by Elbit Systems to assist in the transi-tion to the upgraded MiG-21 LanceR aircraft andother future fighter aircraft, and the data transferunit operates by taking navigational data sent viaa data uplink from a similar unit installed in aground station or installed on aircraft flyingnearby.ACTS generates a comprehensive virtualenvironment by combining multiple real andvirtual air targets into a virtual radar image,allowing the pilot to train and gain experiencein the use of radar without actually a radar being

installed in the IAR-99 Soim aircraft.The systemprovides efficient training in combat scenariosas close to real ty as it gets without the high costof combat aircraft.

The modular system includes a library ofdynamic scenarios that can be preloaded via aPCMCIA card or via an uplink initiated by aninstructor located in the ground station. Thechoice of scenarios includes fighters, along withs i mulation of any infra red or radar guidedmissile, interceptors, air-to-air and surface-to-airmissiles, anti-aircraft batteries, radars, chaff andfl a re counterm e a s u re s , collision wa rn i n g s , i nlow or dense electronic warfare environments,and many other simulated or re-enactments oftrue-to-life combat situations.

The pilots and instructor can make use of afull range of debrief options for post-missionanalysis and review.A cockpit television systemconnected to an airborne video tape recorder(VTR) is used to re c o rd the info rm a t i o ndisplayed along the flight on the HUD. On theaudio channel of the VTR, the instructor in theaft cockpit can record comments related todifferent events during the flight. Through aFailure Injection Panel, the instructor in the aftcockpit can simulate failures in the front cock-pit.

The IAR-99 Soim electronic warfare suite isbased on the Elisra Electronic Systems radarwarning receiver with two of its antennas beingplaced on the lower sides of the forward fuse-lage,while the other two are placed on the sidesof the fin. The radar-warning receiver detectspulse Doppler,pulse and constant working radarthreats and provides threat identification bycomparing signal characteristics against a threat

8

Air Power Analysis

This well-used LanceR A displays the MiG-21’s agility,which is still valued by pilots today. The Romanianupgrade brought the aircraft’s ageing systems into themodern era, but the airframe is now getting tired.

9

Above: The LanceR C modification is arguably the most advanced MiG-21 versionflying. Its Elta multi-mode radar gives it good capability in the air defence role, whilethe DASH helmet sight allows high off-boresight missile shots.

Below: A LanceR B lands at Borcea-Fetesti at the end of another training mission. Theinstructor in the rear seat has a periscope to provide forward vision during theapproach. The LanceR B lacks radar and has no combat function.

library with the radar threats being presented inthe forward cockpit on a 3-in display, placed onthe right side of the Upfront Control Panel(UFCP). For protection within hostile environ-ment, two chaff and flare dispensers (placed onthe trailing edge of the horizontal stabiliser,between the elevators), are used for passivejamming,while for active jamming an ECM (elec-tronic countermeasures) pod can be installedunder the fuselage.These systems are integratedthrough the Military Standard 1553 data bus.

The aircraft has four 250-kg hardpoints underthe wings, plus a fuselage centreline externalstores station.The typical store under the centralstation is a GSh-23 twin-barrelled gun pod with200 23-mm rounds (also available on the non-upgraded IAR-99 Standard).Alternatively, a laserdesignator pod (LDP), ECM pod, a photo pod ora 225-litre (49.5-Imp gal) drop tank can becarried. The wing hardpoints can carry 250-kg(551-lb) and 50 kg (110-lb) bombs.

Air-to-air missiles for self defence can beinstalled on the wing outer pylons and includethe Rafael Python 3,Vympel R-60 or older R-3Sor R-13 air-to-air missiles.The inboard pylons cancarry free-fall bombs, bombs on multiple bombracks, laser- or infrared-guided bombs or 57-mm

rockets.The weapon systems are controlled bythe stores management system.

IAR-330 SOCATOn 30 July 1974 the contract for license

production of the SA330L Puma helicopter byIAR Brasov under the local designation IAR-330LPuma was signed. On 22 October 1975, the firstflight of the IAR-330L Puma helicopter tookplace. The IAR-330 Puma was license built inRomania from 1977 onwa rds with 104produced.

However, in need of a multi-function heli-copter able to accomplish difficult missions,including ground attack, in support of landforces in the environment of the modern battle-field, the Romanian air force launched the Puma2000 programme in 1992 and, with the help ofI s ra e l ’s Elbit Company, the SOCAT (Optical-E l e c t ronic Reconnaissance and A n t i - A rm o u rSystem) helicopter was developed.

In September 1995, the Romanian air forcesigned a contract for the conversion of 24IAR-330L Pumas to SOCAT configuration. TheSOCAT upgrade programme resulted in a heli-copter well ahead of its time, being designed toaccomplish ground attack missions in support of

land forces, perform battlefield reconnaissancewith a real-time datalink, as well as performingsearch and rescue, battlefield extraction andtransportation missions from rough terrain, dayand night, with an all-weather capability.

It is capable of detecting, identifying anddefeating enemy combat forces and assets atlong range and with high precision.The SOCAThas been developed to execute precise, long-range and low-level nap-of-the-earth navigation,by day and night and in all weathers,while beingable to share real-time reconnaissance data withground terminals and other airc ra f tF u rt h e rm o re , it is equipped with HOCAScontrols (hands on collective and stick), auto-matic briefing and debriefing systems for short-ening the recovery and mission preparationtime.

Nevertheless, the SOCATs were not newlybuilt helicopters , but airframes that we reconverted from existing IAR-330L models. Thefirst IAR-330 prototype (PT1) upgraded with theSOCAT system made its maiden flight in its newc o n fi g u ration on 26 May 1998. The secondprototype (PT2) made its first flight from theairport of IAR S.A. at Ghimbav, near Brasov, on 23 October 1999.Equipped with the GIAT (nowNexter) THL-20 20-mm nose-mounted cannonwith 850 rounds, together with four LPR 57(UB-16-57) unguided rocket launchers or eightRafael Spike-ER anti-tank guided missiles (on theouter two hardpoints), the SOCAT can throwmore than a serious punch.

In early 2001 the first SOCAT was delivered tothe 612th Attack Helicopter Squadron at Titu-Boteni,but when this base was closed at the endof 2004, all SOCAT helicopters were moved toOtopeni.The SOCAT upgrade programme endedon 9 June 2005 when the 25th and final heli-copter to be upgraded was officially handedover to the Romanian air force as an attritionreplacement for a SOCAT that was the first to belost in a crash on 16 August 2001 shortly after

10

Above: The FAR operated the Aero L-39 Albatros in thetraining role until 2007. The last surviving aircraft wereof the armed L-39ZA version, but were operated in‘clean’ configuration.

Left: The Aerostar factory has manufactured over 1,800Iak-52s in three major versions. The aircraft is usedtoday by the FAR for screening and primary training.

t a ke - o ff from Boteni-Titu Air Base. The lastSOCAT delivered was actually the original proto-type SOCAT Puma that had made its first flighton 26 May 1998.As such it had been retained asa development aircraft until being brought up tofull operational standard before delivery.

Althea SOCATsFollowing its increased engagement in the

warzone of former Yugoslavia, the EuropeanUnion launched the Althea mission in Bosnia-Herzegovina on 2 December 2004. Developedunder the aegis of the European Union, i tsucceeded the NATO SFOR mission. On 4 January 2005 a detachment of Baza 90 consist-ing of 40 servicemen and four IAR-330L SOCATh e l i c o p t e rs left Otopeni for Bosnia andHerzegovina. The following months, they werepart of the EUFOR (European Union Force),operating under the operation name of Althea.

The four IAR-330 SOCAT helicopters weredeployed not only to perform personnel andcargo airlift missions, but also to provide airreconnaissance, search and rescue, and evacua-tion capabilities in the theatre of operation. On4 July 2005, Alpha detachment completed itsmission in the war theatre in Bosnia andHerzegovina to be replaced by Bravo detach-m e n t , c o n t i nuing the participation of theRomanian Air Force in Operation Althea.

Personnel of the Alpha detachment arrivedback in Romania after their six-month missionon 11 July 2005, having performed over 250missions, totalling over 600 flying hours. Thefour IAR-330L Puma/SOCATs were based at the

EUFOR camp at Banja Luka in the heart of theRepublika Srpska. Currently, the remaining 23IAR-330 SOCAT attack helicopters are assignedto the 904th and 905th A t t a ck HelicopterSquadron at Otopeni and staffed with a total of36 pilots.

LanceR replacementAs the LanceR fleet is becoming increasingly

more expensive to operate and with a desire tocomply even more closely with NATO standards,in 2007 the Romanian air force expressed itsintention to replace its upgraded A e ro s t a rMiG-21 LanceRs from 2010-11 onwards with anew fleet of at least 40 single-seat fighters andfour two-seat trainers, with candidates includingthe Eurofighter Typhoon, Lockheed Martin F-16and Saab Gripen. The deal is expected to beworth Euro4.5 billion, including training andinitial logistics support.

However, by mid-2009 no official announce-ment had been made on whether a tenderwould be released concerning this acquisition.Discussions in Romania continue over whetherthis purchase will be conducted through atender or through a ‘competitive dialogue’, as

Romanian law allows for both options.As usual, the competition is fierce and the

Eurofighter consortium in the meantime hasindicated that it can satisfy the programmerequirement within the allocated budget, anddeliver a requested 80 per cent offset packagefor local industry, including a local assembly lineand the ability to perform maintenance supportand upgrades. Offering 24 Typhoon aircraft, thefirst operational squadron could be provided for2010 and the rest delivered in the 2010-2014period.

The consortium has already assessed the tech-nical capabilities of Avioane Cra i ova and isk n own to be evaluating A e rostar at Bacau.Eurofighter also indicated that it could rapidlypresent a new proposal to supply Romania withrefurbished and upgraded second-handTyphoons if its defence ministry is forced toch a n ge its pro gramme re q u i re m e n t s , w h i chcould also include a leasing option.

Ahead of a possible tender or competitived i a l o g u e , the Defense Security Coopera t i o nAgency (DSCA) notified US Congress in May2008 of a possible Foreign Military Sale (FMS) toRomania of 48 F-16C/D Block 50/52 aircraft,

11

Above: The IAR-99 fulfils basic and advanced trainingneeds for the Fortele Aeriene Romane. The two aircraftin the foreground are IAR-99C Soims, readilydistinguished from the Standard by the radar warningreceiver antennas on the tail and forward fuselage.

Right: The IAR-99 Standard lacks many of the Soim’ssystems, but can be used for weapons training.

potentially consisting of 24 F-16C/D Block 50/52aircraft with either the F100-PW-229 or F110-GE-129 Increased Performance Engines (IPE) andAPG-68(V)9 radars, as well as 24 refurbished andu p graded F-16C/D bl o ck 25 airc raft beingprovided as Excess Defense Articles with theF100-PW-220 and APG-68(V)1 ra d a rs . A l s oincluded in the DSCA notification were associ-ated equipment such as 12 AN/AAQ-33 Sniperor A N / A AQ-28 Litening Ta rgeting Po d s , fo u rTactical Air Reconnaissance Systems or DB-110Reconnaissance Po d s , four A N / A P X - 1 1 3Advanced Identification Friend or Foe (AIFF)s y s t e m s , 28 AN/ALQ-213 Electronic Wa r fa reM a n agement systems, and 28 A N / A L Q - 2 1 1

A d vanced Integrated Defe n s i ve Electro n i cWa r fa re Suite (AIDEWS) or A N / A L Q - 1 8 7Advanced Countermeasures Electronic Systems( AC E S ) , or AN/ALQ-178 Self-Pro t e c t i o nElectronic Warfare Suites (SPEWS).

Saab is also actively marketing the Gripen toR o m a n i a , o ffe ring the JAS 39 Gripen Nex tGeneration (NG) as well as refurbished second-hand aircraft. Similar to other companies, Saab isinvestigating which Romanian partners couldbecome invo l ved in the Gripen off s e tprogramme.

However, amidst a global economic crisis, adecision in the short run is not expected and itmust be stated that several more NATO coun-tries are facing similar problems with fighteraircraft nearing the end of life, or becomingincreasingly expensive to operate. Nevertheless,with several impressive upgrade programmesand reorganisation efforts already realised, theRomanian air force is very well prepared for anynew multi-role aircraft to be procured, whateverits provenance may be.

The IAR-330L Puma serves at all FAR bases. Thisformation represents the medevac (foreground),standard assault transport (centre) and SOCAT variants.

Indsutria Aeronautica Romana built 250 AérospatialeAlouette IIIs under licence as the IAR-316. One wasconverted to a prototype gunship configuration as theIAR-317 Airfox.

Opposite, top: A Puma SOCAT leads an air ambulanceversion during a training exercise. IAR has built over160 Pumas, of which 104 were delivered to the FAR withthe remainder for export. As well as the air forceversions, IAR has developed a naval variant – based onthe SOCAT avionics architecture – of which three havebeen built for the Romanian navy.

Below: The SOCAT represented a cost-effective meansof providing a battlefield helicopter for the FAR. TheNexter 20-mm cannon provides good suppressive fire,while Spike missiles give the SOCAT a precision punch.

Fortele Aeriene Romane

Campia Turzii airfield was built by the RomanianAir Force in the years 1952–1953. From the newbase it initially operated Ilyushin Il-10 groundattack aircraft. In 1969, an anti-aircraft artilleryunit was added to the airbase with its mission toprotect the base against air attacks. On 30 June1982 the 48th Fighter Squadron was establishedon the Caracal-Deveselu airfield operating theMikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21M fighter aircraft.Thesquadron then reported to the 91st FighterRegiment and would later become the core ofthe 71st Air Base.

On 30 June 1986 the 48th Fighter Squadronwas reassigned to the 71st Fighter Regiment,c o n t i nuing its tasks from Cara c a l - D eve s e l uairfield. On 9 June 1987 the 71st Regimentstarted its operations at Campia Turzii airfieldwith the first MiG-21 taking off from its newhome base for a training mission on 9 July 1987.

In January 2001, the unit received its firstMiG-21 LanceR fighters fresh from the Aerostarfactory, allowing the pilots to start their conver-sion to the new type. The current structure ofthe 71st Air Base, being an integrated air base,was created on 1 June 2002 as a result of theRomanian A rmed Fo rc e s ’ re o rg a n i s a t i o nprogramme.As a result of this restructuring, theairbase also absorbed all the aircraft and p e rs o n-

nel of the fo rmer 93 Fighter Air Base at Ti m i s o a ra -G i a rm a t a , as well as the helicopters and person-nel of the former 58 Helicopter Base from Sibiu.

The last three MiG-23 ‘Floggers’ previouslyassigned to Baza 93 Aeriana had been retired inearly 2002 and the 93rd Air Base at Timisoara-Giarmata was eventually disbanded in August2004 with the unit’s MiG-21 LanceRs moving toCampia Turzii, to be reassigned to Baza 71Aeriana. Baza 91 Aeriana continued to operateolder, unmodified versions of the MiG-21 untilthe beginning of 2002, when the unit wasdisbanded and Caracal-Deveselu closed.

Nowadays, the 71st Air Base consists of fourunits,comprising two fighter squadrons and twohelicopter squadrons.The first fighter squadronis the 711th Fighter Squadron, operating a mixof MiG-21 LanceR A and B models alongside the712th Fighter Squadron, which utilises a mix ofMiG-21 LanceR B and Cs.

The latter provided four MiG-21 LanceR Cs forthe ‘Baltica 07’ mission. Since 1 April 2004, whenthe three Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia andLithuania became members of NATO, air polic-ing tasks are perfo rmed by NATO memberstates. Romania participated in the Baltic AirPolicing by sending four MiG-21 LanceR Cs,which were deployed from August 2007 to

November 2007 at Siauliai airbase in Lithuania.Besides the four aircraft, most of the staff also

came from the 71st Air Base and a total of 67personnel, among them nine pilots, were part ofthe detachment. Sixty-three served at Siauliaiairbase, while the remaining four served at theair traffic control centre near Kaunas, to ensuresmooth cooperation with local authorities. TheRomanian detachment attracted signifi c a n tattention from the local media, not least becauseit was only the second time a fighter from theSoviet era had deployed to Siauliai (Polish AirForce MiG-29s were deployed there in 2006).

The Romanian ‘Baltica 07’ d e t a ch m e n tcompleted its mission on 31 October 2007. Onthat occasion, during a formal ceremony organ-ised at Siauliai Air Base, the RomanianD e t a chment Commander, Lieutenant ColonelLaurentiu Chirita,handed over to his Portuguesecounterpart the key to the Baltic Airspace –symbol of the Baltica mission.The Romanian AirForce will perform this mission again, in aroundthree to four years’ time.

Besides the two fighter squadrons, CampiaTurzii also houses the 713th HelicopterSquadron operating the IAR-330L Puma. Theother helicopter unit reporting to the 71st AirBase is the 714th Helicopter Squadron.The latterunit,however, operates a contingent of IAR-330LPumas out of Timisoara airport. At the end of2008, Campia Turzii received its first of a total ofeight so-called NATO Pumas, a similarlyupgraded version as the IAR-330 SOCAT, albeitwithout the weapon aiming and delive rysystems.

Air Power Analysis

Fortele Aeriene Romane – current force

Baza 71 Aeriana (71st Air Base) – Campia Turzii

Romania has five active airbases at Campia Turzii, Borcea-Fetesti, Bucuresti-Otopeni, Bacau andBoboc. The air force also maintains two reserve bases from where helicopter squadrons operate.

Campia Turzii is home to two LanceR squadrons, onewith the attack version (illustrated) and one for airdefence duties. Note the RWR antennas on the sides ofthe forward fuselage.

A LanceR A shows its belly to the camera, revealing theGSh-23 23-mm cannon. One of Campia Turzii’s squadronsflies this variant, along with LanceR B two-seaters.

Fortele Aeriene Romane

On 10 March 1952 the 206th Tactical FighterRegiment was created, becoming part of the66th Tactical Aviation Division. It began opera-tions on 19 March 1952 from Deveselu airbaseand its structure included the command of theregiment, staff and three aviation squadrons. Atthe very beginning, the inventory of the 206thTactical Fighter Regiment included only Yak-11and Yak-18 trainer airc ra f t . From May 1952o n wa rd s , M i koya n - G u rev i ch MiG-15 fi g h t e rsbegan to enter service with the 206th TacticalFighter Regiment, being the first to receive thenew aircraft, and becoming operational on the‘Fagot’ in less than two months.

On 15 July 1953, the 206th Tactical FighterRegiment was deployed to Ianca airbase, fromwhere it operated until 1 May 1955, when ite n t e red the stru c t u re of the 23rd Ta c t i c a lAviation Division to be re-deployed to Otopeniairbase near Bucharest.After the deployment atBucuresti-Otopeni airbase, the pilots of the regi-ment began their conversion to fly the first of 10b rand new MiG-17PF ‘ Fre s c o s ’ , the fi rst jetfighter in Romania equipped with interceptionradar.The 206th Tactical Fighter Regiment, along

with the 499th Airfield Technical Base, deployedonce more on 9 August 1958 when the unit wasmoved to Borcea-Fetesti airbase. From 1967 itwould operate the most advanced fighter of thattime, the MiG-21F-13.

Two squadrons operated the MiG-21F-13 fromBorcea-Fetesti alongside one squadron equippedwith the MiG-19 ‘Farmer’. In 1974, the newerMiG-21PFM ‘Fishbed-F’ replaced the latter, whilethe MiG-21F-13s we re replaced by a moremodern version of the MiG-21, the MiG-21MF‘Fishbed-J’.

From 1997 onwards, one squadron under-went intensive training to make it able to carryout joint missions with NATO Partnership forPeace fo rc e s , for which a special tra i n i n gprogramme had been created.Aimed at reachinga higher level of interoperability, the fighter-bomber squadron became fully equipped withthe MiG-21 LanceR.

At the end of 2000, during the reform of theRomanian Air Force, the structure of the 86th AirBase was ch a n ged ag a i n , i n c o r p o rating theformer 38th Reconnaissance Squadron. For ashort while, the base was home to MiG-21

LanceR, Harbin H-5,Antonov An-30, radar and airdefence units. In 2001, the structure of theairbase was altered again with the reconnais-sance squadron being disbanded on the lastflight of the H-5, which took place on 26 August2001. Finally, the former 57th Airbase HelicopterSquadron was integrated into the airbase struc-ture in 2003.

The current structure of the airbase includestwo fighter squadrons with the MiG-21 LanceR,with the 861st Fighter Squadron operating theMiG-21 LanceR B and C models for air defenceand air policing missions, while the 862ndFighter Squadron flies the MiG-21 LanceR A andB models and is dedicated to ground attackmissions.

Baza 86 Aeriana (86th Air Base) – Borcea-Fetesti

Borcea-Fetesti has been home to the MiG-21 for morethan four decades, and has operated four generations ofthe ‘Fishbed’. culminating in the LanceR. This is aLanceR A of the 862nd Fighter Squadron.

The 861st Fighter Squadron flies the LanceR C fromBorcea-Fetesti. The base provides air defence for theeastern portion of Romania, including the Black Seacoast, while Campia Turzii covers the west.

A third unit reporting to the Baza 86 Aerianais the 863rd Helicopter Squadron, operating ahandful of IAR-330L Pumas from MihailKogalniceanu Airport, this being the former 57thAir Base.

Over the last ten years, pilots of the 86th AirBase have participated in many multinationalexe rcises such as NATO ’s Coopera t i ve KeyPartnership for Peace series, deploying aircraftto Romania, S l ova k i a , Tu rkey, B u l g a ria andFrance.The 86th Air Base has also hosted manybi-lateral exchanges at home.With the FrenchAir

Force it trained during the Volfac exercises heldin the 1998-2001 period and the ChasseurAccompli exe rcise series held at Borc e abetween 2003 and 2006.

Other bi-lateral exercises were held with theRoyal Air Force: in 2003 Lone Kite (Harriers),2004 Lone Cheetah (Jaguars) and 2005 Lone Fiol(Tornados) were all held at the base and, in2007, the airbase hosted Sniper Lance withUnited States Air Force Europe sending F-15Esfrom RAF Lakenheath. Since 2001 the averagenumber of f light hours per pilot per year has

increased noticeably, from 80 to 120 hours in2007.

Today, the 86th Air Base has a modular struc-ture, reflecting NATO’s airbase model, providingall that is necessary to plan, organise, commandand execute the missions it may be tasked with,providing air defence for Romania as well assupporting NATO operations.

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In 1949 the 49th Airlift Division was establishedat Bucuresti-Otopeni airbase to operate aircraftsuch as the Li-2 ‘Cab’, Il-14 ‘Crate’ and the Il-18‘Coot’. In 1971, a special squadron was created,which in 1972 was transformed into the 50thAirlift Wing and 99th Airlift Division using Il-18‘Coot’, Il-62 ‘Classic’, Boeing 707, BAC-1-11,An-2‘Colt’,An-24 ‘Coke’,An-26 ‘Curl’ and An-30 ‘Clank’aircraft, as well as IAR-316 Alouette III, IAR-330Puma,Mi-8 ‘Hip’, Mi-17 ‘Hip’and SA 365 Dauphinhelicopters.

Resulting from further org a n i s a t i o n a lchanges, the 90th Airlift Base and the 76thAirport Technical Group were formed in 1990,using the An-24, An-26, An-30, IAR-330, Mi-8,Mi-17 and SA 365. In 1995, the structure of thisunit was once more changed to become the90th Airlift Base,resulting from the unification ofthe two units. In 1996 its name was changed tothe 90th Airlift Base ‘Comandor Av i a t o rGheorghe Banciulescu’.This was in honour of afamous Romanian pilot who had two woodenlegs and flew the SET 4 record version (41R) ona 9000-km (5,600-mile) tour of 15 Europeancountries over nine days.

As a result of the base closure of Titu-Boteni,the 61st Attack Helicopter Regiment was trans-ferred to the 90th Airlift Base in October 2004,adding 24 IAR-330 SOCAT attack helicopters toits inventory. That same year, Romania showedinternational commitment by performing 216

missions (totalling 1,428 flight hours) with itsC-130B Hercules in missions into Iraq andAfghanistan (Enduring Freedom).

Today, the 90th Airlift Base consists of fives q u a d ro n s : t wo air tra n s p o rt squadrons andthree helicopter squadrons.The 901st Strategic

Baza 90 Aeriana (90th Air Base) – Bucuresti-Otopeni

The FAR’s 14 LanceR B two-seaters are distributedbetween the three bases that operate the type. They areused for conversion and continuation training by bothLanceR A and LanceR C units.

Otopeni is home to the 903rd Transport HelicopterSquadron, which operates the ubiquitous IAR-330LPuma. It is shortly to acquire the IAR-330M NATO Puma.

Tra n s p o rt Squadron curre n t ly has thre eLockheed C-130B and one C-130H Herculesaircraft in its inventory. Romania was the firstformer member of the Treaty of Friendship,C o o p e ration and Mutual Assistance (Wa rs awPact) to operate the Hercules, and four ex-USAFC-130B models were delivered with the first twoairplanes landing at Otopeni on 23 October1 9 9 6 , fo l l owed by the remaining two on 16 February 1997. The Hercules significantlyenhanced Romania’s airlift capability and tacti-cal ra n ge , while making a significant steptowards NATO interoperability.

These recently acquired assets became instru-mental when Romania’s Parliament declared in2001 that participation in peacekeeping,human-itarian and counter-terrorism operations was amajor goal of Romanian security and defencepolicy. However, Romania’s active participationin multilateral operations began long before2001. Following the end of the Cold War, its firstoverseas deployment was in 1991 when a fieldhospital was deployed in support to OperationDesert Storm.

In support of Operation Enduring Freedom(OEF), Romania intensively used its own C-130

aircraft from 2002 onwards in support of aninfantry battalion of 400 troops and a nuclear,biological and chemical warfare company (70t roops) stationed at Kandahar. A regular airbridge was maintained between Romania andA f g h a n i s t a n . This was the fi rst deploy m e n tmission that the Air Fo rce had carried outabroad since World War II.

In early 2005, the Romanian Air Force evencontracted out the air cargo capacity of itsHercules fleet to the Hungarian Ministry ofD e fence for flights between Budapest andAfghanistan.

Reinforcement arrived on 14 February 2007,when Romania’s fifth Hercules was delivered tothe 90th Airlift Base, the country’s first C-130H.It was bought from the Italian Air Force on 24June 2004 and had subsequently been sent toLockheed Martin’s Aircraft & Logistic Center atGreenville, South Carolina, in order to undergodepot-level maintenance and modernisation ofthe communication and navigation systems.

In advance of the receipt of this aircraft,m e m b e rs of the 373rd Training Squadro n ,D e t a chment 4, f rom Little Rock , A rk a n s a s ,provided training for 16 Romanian air force

maintainers with a custom-made programme atthe C-130 Center of Excellence. The purchasewas part of a US Defense Department-sponsoredagreement that also included an upgra d ep ro gramme for the four B-models, e n abl i n gRomania to bolster the alliance’s strategic airliftcapability as part of its contribution of forces toNATO.The upgrade and sustainment programmeaimed at all four C-130Bs includes av i o n i c su p gra d e s , s p a re part s , p u bl i c a t i o n s , t e ch n i c a lsupport, repair and return, contractor logistics u p p o rt , ground support equipment, T 5 6engines and propellers, defence services andtraining.

It will also involve installing new equipmentsuch as UHF and VHF communications, a crewintercom, a cockpit voice recorder, an emer-gency locator beacon and a Combined RadioAltitude A l t i m e t e r. All subsequent av i o n i c supgrades will be carried out in Romania usingkits from Lockheed Martin. When the work iscompleted, all Romania’s Hercules will be to acommon C-130H configuration.

17

Above: The FAR’s single An-30 is on the strength of the902nd Transport and Reconnaissance Squadron. Itcarries two 90th Air Base badges on its forwardfuselage, and ‘Open Skies’ logo on the fin.

With the An-24s retired in 2007, only four An-26s are leftin service, shortly to be replaced by C-27Js.

The last remaining four An-26 ‘Curls’ andsingle An-30 ‘Clank’ are assigned to the 902ndTransport and Reconnaissance Squadron. TheAntonov An-24 ‘Coke’ is no longer in use: on 26 July 2007 a 20-minute commemorative flightwas flown over Otopeni airbase to mark the lastmission of the An-24 in air aorce service.

In the early 1970s the Romanian air forcereceived approximately 14 An-26s, of whichnow only four remain in service. All of themwear a grey colour scheme, although in the mid-1990s the An-26 wore white colour schemeswith TAROM or Romavia titles and civilian regis-trations. Some of them can still be seen stored atOtopeni.

For its missions the An-26 has a crew of five,consisting of two pilots, navigator, radio opera-tor and flight engineer. The squadron currentlyconsists of 22 pilots who each accumulate some100 flight hours on average per year.

A unique aircraft in Romanian service is theAntonov An-30 ‘Clank’,of which three were orig-inally received in December 1976 for photo-reconnaissance and aerial mapping tasks.Besides its regular aircrew,the An-30 has an addi-tional operator for its photo equipment.Nowadays only one An-30 remains operational,which wears the same grey colour scheme asthe remaining An-26s and is mainly tasked toexecute missions under the Treaty on OpenSkies (OS), to which Romania is a signatorystate. For this mission, the An-30 is equippedwith a total of five cameras, consisting of twoWild RC-30 aerial mapping cameras withforward motion compensation (FMC), one ZeissLMK-1000 large - fo rmat 152-mm film camerawith FMC, and two Fre n ch-built Omera - 3 3cameras capable of 10-cm ground resolutionunder optimal conditions. They are coupled tothe GPS-based LH Systems Ascot flight manage-ment system.

All aircraft used for Open Skies are subjectedto rigorous certification standard and inspectionto ensure that their sensors are approved and

conform to the standards of the treaty.Althoughthe Treaty on Open Skies was originally negoti-ated between members of NATO and the formerWarsaw Pact as a means of building confidencein the arms control process, the Warsaw Pactceased to exist before the treaty was signed inH e l s i n k i , but the fo rmer members of thatalliance neve rtheless continued to supportOpen Skies. A bilateral Open Skies Agreementbetween Hungary and Romania is also in place,for which the An-30 is utilised.

The air force will further bolster its airliftcapacity when it starts receiving the Alenia C-27JSpartan. The C-27J was selected in November2006 to replace the Romanian air fo rc e ’sAntonov An-24/26s as their service lives arerapidly expiring and the platforms are becomingincreasingly expensive to operate. At the sametime, new aircraft should be compatible withNATO operating requirements, something theAntonov fleet is not.

A tender was organised by Romtehnica, withAlenia being selected to meet the seven-aircraftre q u i re m e n t . H oweve r, the tendering pro c e-dures were disputed by the other participant inthe tender, EADS Construciones Aeronauticas SAof Spain, which had offered the C-295 to meetthe requirement. Alenia’s initial win was conse-q u e n t ly scrapped by the National Au t h o ri t yresponsible for supervising public procurementdeals.

Both the government and Alenia took thedecision to the Court Section for Administrativeand Civil Law which ruled in June 2007 thatAlenia had the right to deliver the aircraft. InDecember 2007, Romtehnica (a companyreporting to the Ministry of Defence) and theItalian company Alenia A e ronautica fi n a l lysigned a contract for the acquisition of sevenC-27J Spartan medium transport aircraft, and theinitial delivery was scheduled to take place atthe end of 2008, with the remaining aircraftspread over the following five years to augmentthe Hercules fleet.

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Air Power Analysis

Romania’s Hercules fleet has been heavily used,especially on missions to support NATO peacekeepingefforts. A single C-130H partners upgraded C-130Bs.

Wearing the 90th Airlift Base ‘Comandor AviatorGheorghe Banciulescu’ badge on its nose, a C-130 restson the ramp at Otopeni. The base is also a stop-over forother NATO transports on their way to Afghanistan.

For transport, and search and rescue duties,the 903rd Transport Helicopter Squadron oper-ates the IAR-330L Puma and, in the near future,the IAR-330M NATO Puma. In order to performthe SAR duty, two helicopters are generally kepton a 45-minute alert.On average, a 203 Squadronpilot flies about 80 hours per year, but at thebeginning of 2008 the squadron only had twohelicopters available (one for SAR and one fort ra n s p o rt) with the remaining three at IARBrasov for maintenance and repairs.To perform

its tasks the squadron has 15 pilots, co-pilots andflight engineers available. The squadron playedan important role during the floods in 2005 and2006 in Romania, when four Pumas (one SARand three transports) were deployed for SAR,hoist, supply and evacuation missions.

Currently the Romanian Air Force is in theprocess of modernising 12 standard IAR-330LPumas into upgraded IAR-330M Pumas, a l s ocalled NATO Puma.They are similar to the exist-ing SOCATs that are equipped with weatherradar, INS/GPS,digitised moving map,multi-func-tion displays (MFD), navigation system, HOCAS(hands-on-collective-and-stick) and night visionsystem. However, the SOCAT’s nose-mounteds t abilised turret with FLIR, v i d e o - C C D, l a s e r

ra n ge - finder and auto-tra ck i n g , t wo anti-tankmissile pylons and 20-mm turreted gun (850rounds) will not be installed in the upgradedNATO Pumas.

For the introduction of the NATO Puma intoRomanian service a virtual squadron has beencreated, consisting of the most experiencedPuma pilots from Campia Turzii and Otopeni,including some SOCAT pilots. By the end of2007 nine out of 12 IAR-330s had already beenconverted and delivered to the Romanian AirForce with the remaining being delivered in2 0 0 8 . Eight of the 12 NATO Pumas we reassigned to the 71st Air Base at Campia Turzii,the remainder four helicopters being based atOtopeni.

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With the purpose of improving engineer andpilot training, the Training Centre of Aviationemerged from the 4th Aviation Group that hadoperated from Tecuci airfield since 17 June1920.As a result of a reorganisation process, theAeronautics Training Centre was setup in 1924,but after World War II the Aeronautics TrainingCentre was reorganised once more to operatefrom Medias,Tecuci and Buzau.The centre wasdisbanded in 1953 and its activities were trans-ferred to other training establishments with theTraining Centre of Aviation being re-establishedat Bacau airfield in 1968. Since then, the TrainingCentre of Aviation has trained over 500 fighterpilots on the MiG-21 and provided aviation train-ing to over 6,000 other military personnel indifferent trades.

On 25 August 1995 the 95th Air Base wascreated with the purpose of supporting the 95thFighter Group, which continued to train MiG-21pilots. It also supported the MiG-21 LanceR testactivities at the Aerostar company, co-located atthe airfield and responsible for carrying outmaintenance, modifications and repairs on most

Baza 95 Aerianâ (95th Air Base) – Bacau

Bucuresti-Otopeni is the home base for the SOCATPumas of the 61st Attack Helicopter Regiment. Theregiment has two constituent units, the 904th and 905thAttack Helicopter Squadrons.

During 2005-07 Bacau was used for jet training due to problems with the runway at Boboc. Here an IAR-99C Soimlands at the base during that period.

of the aircraft in the Romanian air force inven-tory. On 25 March 1997 the first LanceR wasdelivered to this unit, which was declared fullyoperational on 8 May. Resulting from yet anotherreorganisation process, from 1 May 2001 until 1 July 2004, Bacau became home to the Centrefor Transition to Supersonic aircraft for youngpilots for the MiG-21 LanceR programme.

From 1 July 2004, the Centrul 95 Trecere peAvioane Supersonice (95th Centre for Transitionto Supersonic aircraft) was re-designated Baza95 Aeriana (95th Air Base).The training task wastransferred to the 205th Fighter Squadron, a

dedicated training squadron operating someMiG-21 LanceR Bs from Bacau, but subordinatedto the Scoala de Aplicatie pentru Fortele Aeriene‘Aurel Vlaicu’ (Application School for the AirForce) at Boboc.

The current structure of Baza 95 Aerianaincorporates the 951st Fighter Squadron operat-ing both the MiG-21 LanceR A and B for groundattack and close air support (CAS) missions, andthe 952nd Helicopter Squadron employ i n gIAR-330L Pumas for medevac, SAR, airlift andreconnaissance missions.The latter also providesoperational training for the medevac mission tothe other IAR-330 Puma units in the RomanianAir Force.

Helicopters arrived at Bacau in the form ofAlouette IIIs and Pumas after Grupul 59

Elicoptere at Tuzla and Grupul 60 Elicoptere atTecuci were disbanded in 2001 and these basessubsequently closed.The Alouette IIIs, however,have since been retired from operational serviceand only the training school at Boboc operates ahandful.

During the 2005 flooding, IAR-330 Pumasfrom Bacau rescued over 500 people and deliv-ered over 200 tons of medical supplies to thed evastated area of Comanesti. L i ke theircolleagues of the 86th Air Base at Borcea-Fetesti,the pilots of the 95th Air Base have participatedin many bilateral and multinational exercises,s u ch as the Co-opera t i ve Key and VO L C ACseries.

Romania maintains two re s e rve bases fro mwhich it operates single squadrons equippedwith IAR-330 Pumas. The first reserve base isMihail Kogalniceanu Airport near Constanta.Thisis the former Baza 57 Aeriana, from where in itsactive days two squadrons of MiG-29 ‘Fulcrums’were operated.

The first two MiG-29A single-seaters (model9-12) and two MiG-29UB (model 9-51) two-s e a t e rs we re delive red to Romania short lybefore the 1989 revolution, but the first trainingflights did not start before March 1990. Initially14 MiG-29As and four MiG-29UBs were deliv-ered, but later an additional two MiG-29As werereceived to replace attrition losses, and in 1992a single MiG-29C (model 9-13) was receivedfrom the Moldovan Air Force.

The ‘Fulcrum’ was operated until early 2003when it was decided to withdraw the type froms e rv i c e . One squadron tempora ri ly opera t e deight Lancer-As and a Lancer-B until April 2004,when Baza 57 Aeriana was disbanded altogether,with the LanceRs returning to Borcea-Fetesti.The base is now an annex from Baza 86 Aeriana,with the helicopter squadron of Baza 57 Aerianabeing reassigned to Baza 86 Aeriana.

In 2000 the Aerostar company together withElbit launched the Sniper pro gramme andoffered an upgrade package for the MiG-29.Although plans existed to upgrade at least 12 ofthese ‘Fulcrums’, the government announced inJanuary 2003 the retirement of the ‘Fulcrums’and the aircraft remain in storage at the base.

The other reserve base is Timisoara-Giarmata,

home to the 714th Helicopter Squadron operat-ing a contingent of IAR-330L Pumas.Assigned toBaza 71 Aeriana at Campia Turzii, the Pumas nowreside at the former Baza 93 Aeriana, the lastbase in Romania from where MiG-23 operationstook place. Only four ‘Floggers’ were operationalby 2000 and the final MiG-23 sortie was flown inSeptember 2001, after which the squadron wasdisbanded.With the withdrawal of the ‘Flogger’from operational service and the fact that the airforce reorganisation process did not yield a newmission for the base, the 93 Air Base was finallydisbanded in August 2004.

Reserve air bases – Mihail Kogalniceanu and Timisoara-Giarmata

Bacau is one of three FAR bases accommodatingLanceRs. The 951st Fighter Squadron flies LanceR Afighter-bombers.

The FAR has a number of retired aircraft in storage. ThisHarbin H-5 remains in open storage at Borcea-Fetesti,several years after its last flight in 2001.

Fortele Aeriene Romane

The Romanian air force has three training facili-ties, comprising the Air Force Academy, the AirForce Non-Commissioned and Technical OfficerSchool, and the Air Force Application School.TheAir Force Academy ‘Henri Coanda’ was estab-lished by Governmental Decision no. 616 on 11 August 1995 and was given the name ofRomania’s famous scholar and inventor HenriCoanda. The Academy continues the activitiesand traditions of the ‘Au rel V l a i c u ’ M i l i t a ryAviation School,‘Avram Iancu’ Radar School and‘General Bungescu’Anti-Aircraft Artillery School.

Romania’s first Military Aviation School wasfounded on 1 April 1912 at Cotroceni, being oneof the first five institutes of this kind in theworld. The first Officer School for Anti-aircraftArtillery was set up soon after the beginning ofWorld War II on 10 December 1939, while thefirst Radar Officer School in Romania was set upon 1 December 1952, at Sibiu.

The Air Force Academy’s mission is to trainstudents to become officers for the followingspecialities: pilot, navigator, meteorologist, airdefence artillery and missiles, and radar opera-tion.

The Air Fo rce Non-Commissioned andTechnical Officer School ‘Traian Vuia’ finds itsorigins in the Aeronautics Military SpecialistsSchool that was established in 1920 on Piperaairfield in Bucharest. A year later, the schoolmoved to Medias and the school received thename ‘Traian Vuia’ in 1954, named after theRomanian inventor who designed,built and flewthe first self-propelling heavier-than-air aircraftin Europe in 1906.

In 1939 the A n t i - A i rc raft A rt i l l e ry Offi c e rSchool was established and included a sectionfor non-commissioned offi c e rs . In 1960 theMilitary School for Anti Aircraft Artillery andRadar Non-commissioned and Technical Officerswas established in Brasov. Both schools weremerged together on 1 September 2001 into anew entity, the Air Force Non-commissioned andTe chnical Non-commissioned Officer Sch o o l‘Traian Vuia’.

As a result of military educational systemre s t ru c t u ri n g , the school was co-located inBoboc (near Buzau) on 15 September 2004 withthe Air Force Application School ‘Aurel Vlaicu’.Nowadays the school educates and trains non-commissioned officers to become specialists ino p e ra t i n g , maintaining and re p a i ring the airfo rc e ’s equipment and weapon systems. I t sspecialities include training on airc raft anda i rc raft engi n e s , o n b o a rd weapon systems,

a m mu n i t i o n , m i s s i l e s , s u rv i val equipment,electro-mechanics, avionics, operation of variousradar types, anti-aircraft artillery and ground-to-air missiles. As far as the curriculum isconcerned,the school is subordinated to CountyEducational Inspectorate.

Air Force Application School ‘AurelVlaicu’

In 1911 there were two pilot training schoolsin Buch a rest where the fi rst military pilotsreceived their wings: second lieutenant StefanProtopopescu, second lieutenant Gh. Negrescu,second lieutenant Mircea Zorileanu and secondlieutenant Nicolae Capsa. Te a ching methodswere very modern considering that the firstRomanian pilots learned to fly an aircraft usingdedicated trainers built in the Chitila work-shops.Those aircraft were single-seated and thetrainees went solo on their first flight.

On 1 April 1912 the first Military Pilot Schoolwas established under the command of MajorIon Macri.The second Romanian school, named‘Flying School for Military and Civilian Pilots’was established by Valentin Bibescu on 1 August1912 at what is now Baneasa Airport. Bothschools trained and licensed about 100 militarypilots in a relatively short period of time (1912-1918). During World War I, the Military AviationSchool was evacuated for a time to Tecuci, thenBirlad, Botosani and Odessa.

B e t ween the two world wa rs , a tra i n i n g

school for flying officers operated at Cotroceniin Bucharest, while the Flight Training MilitarySchool in Tecuci and War Pilots ImprovementSchool in Buzau were established.The latter wascreated to improve flying skills of the graduatedpilots coming from Cotroceni and Te c u c i .Initially the syllabus covered a two-year periodbut, after 1930, a three-year course was providedas increasing combat requirements demandedimproved skills and a higher training level. Thel e a rning process cove red training modulesstructured according to the proficiency require-ment: basic training with Morane MS.109 andadvanced training with fighters (Fokker D.111,Spad 61) or reconnaissance aircraft (Potez 15).A school for bombers was established atConstanta.

In 1940 the Military Aviation Schools in Tecuciand Buzau moved to Zilistea-Boboc airfield and,when Romania entered the war for nationalunification on 22 June 1941, the pilots deployedat this airfield were the first to accomplish amission – bombing the northern and southernarea of Kishinev.

Fortele Aeriene Romane – education and training system

No longer used for any operational role, the venerableAn-2 ‘Colt’ provides a useful tool with which tointroduce students to the demands of transport flying.

The Aero L-29 and L-39 (illustrated) were importantelements of the FAR’s fast-jet syllabus, but both typeshave now been retired in favour of the indigenousIAR-99 and IAR-99C.

After World War II, according to the condi-tions imposed by the Allied Control Committee,M i l i t a ry Aviation Schools we re disbanded.Starting in 1948, new military aviation schoolswere established in Sibiu, Medias and Tecuci. In1953, the authorities changed the name of theMilitary Aviation School no.1 in Tecuci to AirForce Officer School ‘Aurel Vlaicu’ and in 1958 itreturned to Boboc. There it became an officerhigher educational school with fo u r - ye a rcourses, training both civil and military pilots, aswell as flying and non-flying personnel.

The anti-Communist revolution in December1989 raised new perspectives for the establish-ment. In 1991, the school transformed into theAir Military Institute ‘Aurel Vlaicu’, and since

1997 it has transformed into the Air ForceApplication School ‘Aurel Vlaicu’. The AcademiaFo rtelor A e riene (air fo rce academy) ‘ H e n riCoanda’ in Brasov has taken over the tasksconcerning the academic training of future AirForce officers.

On 1 August 2004, as a result of the air force’stransformation and re-sizing, the establishmentchanged its name into Scoala de Aplicatie pentruFortele Aeriene, or Air Force Application School(AFAS) and included the three branches specificto the air forces:air force,artillery and ground-to-air missile, and radar.

Because of problems with the runway atBoboc the AFAS jet training has been conductedelsewhere in recent years. During 2003 and2004 Ianca airbase was used,but under the 2004air force re-structuring the base was closed andthe IAR-99s had to move to Bacau. In 2005 theL-29 Delfin was finally retired and only a smallnumber of L-39 Albatross were used alongside

the IAR-99 for tra i n i n g . In September 2007runway and infrastructure repairs at Boboc werecompleted and, after spending three years atB a c a u , the Soims, S t a n d a rds and A l b a t ro s e sfinally returned to their home base to rejoin theother AFAS training squadrons. On 13 December2007 a Soim simulator was inaugurated atBoboc, produced by the Romanian companySimultec that is owned by Elbit.

Today the ‘Aurel Vlaicu’ Flight School consistsof five units: the 201st School Squadron operat-ing Yakovlev Iak-52; the 202nd School Squadronflying the Antonov An-2 ‘Colt’; the 203rd SchoolSquadron using the IAR-99 Standard and until2007 the L-39ZA Albatros; the 204th SchoolSquadron operating the advanced IAR-99 Soim;and finally the 206th School Squadron operatingthe last of fi ve IAR-316B Alouette IIIs inRomanian air force service.Young people (men

Prospective Romanian air force pilots first get a taste offlying in the Aerostar Iak-52, operated from Boboc bythe 201st School Squadron. The type has been in servicesince 1986.

As well as being used for basic flying instruction, theIak-52 introduces FAR pilot recruits to basic militaryskills such as formation-flying and aerobatics.

and women) having a high-school diploma canapply for the entry examination at the MilitaryAcademy, after Regional Recruitment Centresand the National Institute for Aeronautical andSpace Medicine has selected and declared themeligible based on physical, psychological andmedical ex a m i n a t i o n . The entry ex a m i n a t i o nheld by the Academy consists of written tests inm a t h e m a t i c s , social sciences and Englishlanguage.

Until 2006 the Academy syllabus lasted fouryears, but has since been changed to three yearsto bring it in line with national and internationalstandards. After the first theoretical year at theacademy, students selected to become pilots aresent to the Air Force Application School atBoboc, where they start their curriculum duringthe summer period attending classes on theoret-ical aeronautical subjects. They also start flyingthe Aerostar/Yakolev Iak-52, the ab initio trainerof the Romanian Air Force.

Following an exchange of letters between thegove rnments of Romania and USSR, it wa sdecided to manufacture the Yak-52 in Romaniain large numbers. Except for USSR’s DOSAAFparamilitary sport flying organisation, in the1980s the only customer for the Yak-52 was theRomanian Air Fo rc e , w h i ch introduced theaircraft at the beginning of 1986 as the Iak-52. Itoperated the aircraft alongside the indigenousIAR-823 basic trainer within the Air LiaisonGroup based at Focsani airfield, at that time partof the Scoala Militara de Ofiteri de Aviatie ‘AurelVlaicu’ (Military Aviation School) at Boboc.

Since then,a few more air arms have followedthe Romanian ex a m p l e , as well as manyhundreds of civilian buyers.After more than 20years since production started, the Romanianmanufacturer Aerostar S.A. has produced morethan 1,800 Iak-52s.

Today, the Boboc unit is subordinated to theRomanian Air Force Academy ‘Henri Coanda’,which took over all the assets of the former mili-tary school during the reorganisation process

undertaken in 1995.Each student’s flying skills is assessed during

some 50 to 60 flight hours in the Iak-52, whichincludes basic flying training, navigation, forma-tion and several solo flights.After the first year itis decided if the pilot will become a fighter pilotand continue on the IAR-99 Standard or becomea transport or helicopter pilot. This is deter-mined based on his or her performance, interestand – of course – the air force’s pilot require-ments.

Future transport pilots continue their courseflying the Antonov An-2 ‘Colt’, of which six areleft in the inve n t o ry. Designated helicopterpilots transfer to the 206th Escadrila AviatieScoala (School Squadron) and fly the IAR-316BAlouette III.After a second year at the Academythe fighter-pilot student returns to Boboc for 50more flying hours.

Basic training is given on the IAR-99 Standard,w h i ch includes nav i g a t i o n , fo rm a t i o n , i n s t ru-ment training and, finally, solo flights.This train-ing is continued in the third year when the focus

is more on formation and aerobatics.After grad-uation from the Air Force Academy the cadetbecomes a first lieutenant, receiving his or herlong awaited pilot license.The young graduatescontinue to fly the IAR-99C Soim as the lead-infighter trainer for the LanceR.

In 2004 the Romanian Air Force started withthree Soim aircraft and five instructor pilots toestablish and develop a training syllabus for thisadvanced training course in order to economiseits training and close the gap between IAR-99Standard and MiG-21 LanceR.The final six or soDelfins were retired in November 2005 andplaced into storage at Ianca.

In 2006 the first four fighter pilot studentswere trained on the IAR-99 Soim,but the remain-ing student pilots still received their training onthe IAR-99 Standard and L-39. From 2008onwards, all students received their advancedpilot training on the IAR-99C Soim, for whichthe 204th School Squadron had nine aircraft inits inventory and ten instructor pilots.

Marnix Sap and Carlo Brummer/MIAS.Aero

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The 206th School Squadron provides rotary-winginstruction on five IAR-316B Alouette IIIs, the lastsurvivors of a once large fleet operated by theRomanian air force.