Spain will send six Eurofighter fighter jets to Bulgaria and eight F18M fighter jets to Romania over the next two months to help monitor airspace and protect NATO’s eastern flank, it was announced Saturday.
These new shipments are in response to a call from the NATO Air Component (Aircom), for countries to increase their contributions over time in a sustainable manner, to strengthen the air shield on the eastern flank, in light of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
According to the Spanish Ministry of Defense, it is planned to send a new detachment to Bulgaria between November 14 and December 2, in a statement quoted by the Efe agency.
Spain will send a tactical air detachment of six Eurofighters and 130 soldiers to Bezmer Air Base, with the aim of carrying out air training and police missions, if required by the Atlantic Alliance. The planned deployment to Romania will begin on December 1 and last until March 31, 2023 at Fetesi Air Force Base, sending eight F18Ms and 130 military personnel, who will also conduct training and air police missions.
This detachment will join the detachment sent on October 17 to the Romanian barracks of Schitu, where until March 31 (extendable period to June 30) will remain the DAT Tigru, formed by a long-range surveillance radar to monitor the eastern flank of the control NATO.
The radar left the port of Cartagena, bound for the Romanian city of Costanza, on October 10, and 38 soldiers were deployed to keep it active 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Since Russia invaded Ukraine in February, Spain has sent tactical air detachments to Bulgaria (four Eurofighters and 133 soldiers), Lithuania (eight F18Ms and 130 soldiers) and Estonia (four Eurofighters and 70 soldiers) until September.
Source: DN
