Romanian Air Force

In 1818, during the reign of John Caradja, the prince of Wallachia, an unmanned hot air balloon was flown off Dealul Spirii in Bucharest.[13] On July 7, 1874, Colonel Nicolae Haralambie with Ion Ghica and a third person flew over Bucharest in a hydrogen balloon named "Mihai Bravul", which had made its first flight on June 9 of the same year.

On November 20, 1909 the Chitila Piloting School was formed as a joint venture by Mihail Cerchez. The school, conducted by French flight instructors, had five hangars, bleachers for spectators and shops where the Farman planes imported from France were assembled. The school opened on July 9, 1910, when the chief flight instructor and director of the school René Guillemin crashed a Farman III biplane from a height of 40 metres (130 ft) during a demonstration flight and broke his leg.

Guillemin was succeeded by Michel Molla who made the first flight across Bucharest on September 7, 1910. Molla was succeeded by two others before the school closed in late 1912 due to financial difficulties, having trained six officers, but only licensed two.[14]

In November 1909, the Romanian Minister of War commissioned Aurel Vlaicu to build the A. Vlaicu I airplane at the Bucharest Army Arsenal which first flew on June 17, 1910. On September 28, during the Fall military exercise, Vlaicu flew his airplane from Slatina to Piatra Olt carrying a message, Romania thus becoming the second country after France to use airplanes for military purposes. Along with other Romanian pilots, Vlaicu flew reconnaissance missions during the Second Balkan War. [15] [16] [17] Vlaicu III, the first metal aircraft in the world, was completed after his death, in May 1914.[18]

On the eve of Romania's entrance in the war in late 1916, the Romanian Air Force comprised only 28 aircraft.[19] The 28 aircraft comprised six different models, namely 10 Bristol T.B.8 biplanes, 7 Bristol Coanda Monoplanes, 4 Farman HF.20 biplanes and 4 Blériot XI.[20] Added to these were two Morane Type F monoplanes and two native-made monoplanes designed by Aurel Vlaicu.[21] One of the Vlaicu monoplanes, A Vlaicu II, crashed in 1913, leaving A Vlaicu I as the sole Romanian-made aircraft in the Romanian Air Force.

During World War I, Romania acquired 322 aircraft from France and ex-RNAS aircraft from Great Britain including Nieuport 11 and 17 single seat fighters and Morane-Saulnier LA and Nieuport 12 two seat fighters. Caudron G.3, Henry Farman HF.20, Farman MF.11, and Farman F.40 & 46 artillery observation and reconnaissance aircraft, Caudron G.4, Breguet-Michelin BLM and Voisin LA bombers.[22] On September 16, 1916, a Romanian Farman F.40 downed an Imperial German Air Force aircraft near Slobozia; this was the first Romanian Air Force victory. By the end of World War I, Romanian pilots had flown about 11,000 hours and 750 missions; however, it was unable to prevent the December 1916 Romanian offensive at the Battle of the Arges from being defeated, which resulted in the occupation of Romania, and an armistice on 6 December 1917.[23]

A pair of IAR-80 fighters on patrol during World War II

When Romania, allied with Nazi Germany, went to war against the Soviet Union on June 22, 1941, the Romanian Air Force had 621 airplanes, including its locally made fighter IAR 80/81. The air force accomplished hundreds of missions, contributing to Romania's recapture of Northern Bucovina and Bessarabia, which had been occupied by the Soviet Union a year earlier. Until the Odessa episode, the Romanian military fighters gained 661 air victories. Romanian Military Aviation fought on the Eastern Front until August 22, 1944, bringing an important contribution to the great battles at Stalingrad, in Crimea, and the Ukrainian fronts. Between 1941–1944, Romanian aircraft won 2,000 air victories. The most famous flying aces were Captain Prince Constantin Cantacuzino, who gained 68 certified victories, Captain Horia Agarici, and Captain Alexandru Şerbănescu, who shot down 60 enemy airplanes.

In the aftermath of King Michael's Coup of August 23, 1944, Romania turned against Germany and joined the Allies.

A pair of Romanian MiG-21 fighters, late 1970s

Starting with 1948, Romania tailored its military to Soviet concepts and doctrine. On February 15, 1949, the Aviation Command was established based on the Soviet model (regiments instead of flotillas). New Soviet aircraft, such as Yakovlev Yak-18, Polikarpov Po-2, Lavochkin La-9, Tupolev Tu-2, and Ilyushin Il-10 entered service. A year later, 9 Yakovlev Yak-17s and Yak-23s entered the air force, and in 1952, other 88 aircraft: MiG-15 and MiG-17. In 1958, the first supersonic fighter MiG-19 entered the inventory. Three years later, in February 1962, a new fighter was added to the inventory, MiG-21, which represented one of the most effective fighters of that time.

Starting with 1974, Romanian-made aircraft supplemented the already existing jets. The Romanian IAR-93 attack aircraft flew its first flight on 31 October 1974. It represented a great step forward taking into account that it was the only jet fighter not made by the Soviets, the only one ever manufactured and operated by a Warsaw Pact country.

In 1962, the first helicopter subunits were established and followed later on, in 1965, by the first Soviet Mi-2 and Mi-4 helicopters. Renewing the aircraft fleet process went on, the first 12 MiG-23s entering the service between July–September 1979.

On 14 May 1981, at 20:16, Soviet spaceship Soyuz-40 was launched from Baikonur to perform a common Romanian-Soviet flight, with Lieutenant Dumitru Prunariu and Colonel Leonid Popov as commander on board. During the early 1980s, 67th Fighter-Bomber Regiment and 49th Fighter-Bomber Regiment from Craiova and Ianca were equipped with new IAR-93s, which replaced old MiG-15s and MiG-17s. In December 1989, just a few days before the Romanian revolution against communism began, MiG-29 aircraft entered the Air Force inventory.

The MiG-29 place in storage since 2003

Four MiG-21 LanceR Cs were deployed from August–November 2007 at Šiauliai, in Lithuania for Baltic Air Policing. The Romanian detachment succeeded the French Air Force Mirage 2000Cs of Escadron de Chasse 01.012 from Cambrai, which fulfilled the Baltic Air Policing since May 2007. Once the RoAF finished its three-month stint, a Portuguese Air Force detachment took over the mission.[24]

The four aircraft and most of the staff came from the 71st Air Base. A total of 67 personnel, among them nine pilots, were part of the detachment: 63 served at Šiauliai, while other four served at the air traffic control centre in Kaunas, to ensure smooth cooperation with local authorities. The Romanian detachment attracted attention from the local media, not least from the fact that it was only the second time a fighter from the Soviet era deployed to Šiauliai - Polish Air Force MiG-29s had also been deployed there in 2006.[25]

The Romanian Air Force General Staff represents the military concept-developing, command and executive structure providing Air Forces peacetime, crisis and wartime leadership in order to reach, maintain and increase, as required, the operational level of the military subordinated structures so that to be able to operate under authorized commands responsible for military operations planning and conduct.

Generate, mobilize, structure, equip, operationalize and regenerate the required forces, provide the logistic support necessary to conduct military operations and based on higher orders, take over both the Joint Operation Air Component and independent air operations command and control, through the Main Air Operational Center. Starting with July 1, 2010, the Romanian Air Force bases were renamed to Air Flotillas.[26]

71st Air Base

86th Air Base

90th Airlift B.

95th Air Base

Application School

Mihail K.

Bucharest

Ovidiu

Giarmata

Suceava

Craiova

Muntele Mare

Bârnova

Curtea de Argeș

Romanian Air Force radar stations
Fighter base Helicopters Other flying units
AN/FPS-117(V) Radar station Control and Reporting Centre Air Signals and IT Centre

Alenia C-27J Spartan RoAF 90th Airlift Base

IAR-99 Şoim

The structure of the Romanian Air Force as of 2018 is as follows:[27]

• 71st Air Base "General Emanoil Ionescu"
  • 71st Air Base, Câmpia Turzii military airfield
    • 711th Combat Aviation Squadron, with MiG-21 LanceR C/B
    • 713th Combat Helicopter Squadron, with IAR-330 SOCAT
  • 71st Air Base annex, at Timișoara - Giarmata IAP
    • 712th Helicopter Squadron, with IAR-330 L/M/M (MEDEVAC)
• 86th Air Base "Locotenent Aviator Gheorghe Mociorniţă"
  • 86th Air Base, in Feteşti - Borcea military airfield
    • 53rd Fighter Squadron, with F-16 Block 15 MLU M5.2
  • 86th Air Base annex, at Constanța - Mihail Kogălniceanu IAP (former 57th Air Base)
    • 861st Combat Aviation Squadron, with MiG-21 LanceR C/B
    • 863rd Helicopter Squadron, with IAR-330L/M/M (MEDEVAC)
• 90th Airlift Base "Comandor Aviator Gheorghe Bănciulescu"
  • 90th Airlift Base, at Bucharest - Otopeni IAP
    • 901st Tactical Air Transport Squadron, with C-130H Hercules
    • 902nd Operational Air Transport and Aerophotogrametric Squadron, with C-27J Spartan and An-30
    • 903rd Transport Helicopter Squadron, with IAR-330L
• 95th Air Base "Erou Căpitan Aviator Alexandru Şerbănescu"
  • 95th Air Base, at Bacău IAP
    • 951st Advanced Air Training Squadron, with IAR-99 Șoim
    • 952nd Combat Helicopter Squadron, with IAR-330 SOCAT
• 142nd Reconnaissance Squadron, with Shadow 600 UAVs, at Timișoara - Giarmata IAP
• Air Operations Centre, in Bucharest
  • 2nd Airspace Surveillance Centre "North", at 71st Air Base, in Câmpia Turzii
  • Radar Station, in Ovidiu, with AN/FPS-117(V)
  • Radar Station, at Giarmata Airport with AN/FPS-117(V)
  • Radar Station, in Suceava, with AN/FPS-117(V)
  • Radar Station, in Craiova, with AN/FPS-117(V)
  • Radar Station, on Muntele Mare, with AN/FPS-117(V)
  • Civil/Military Radar Station, in Bârnova, with AN/FPS-117(V)
• 1st Surface-to-air Missile Brigade, in Bucharest
• 70th Engineering Centre, in Bucharest
• 85th Air Signals and IT Centre "General Doroftei Ghermănescu", in Curtea de Argeș
• 91st Logistic Base, in Bucharest
• Air Force Academy "Henri Coanda", in Brasov
• Air Force Personnel Training and Formation Air Base
  • Air Force Application School "Aurel Vlaicu", Boboc military airfield
    • 1st Air Training Squadron AI-A Phase, with IAK-52 and IAR 316B
    • 2nd Air Training Squadron AII-A Phase, with IAR 99 Standart
  • Air Force NCO and Specialists School "Traian Vuia", Boboc military airfield
• Capu Midia Surface-to-air Training and Air-to-Surface Shooting Range

• 57th Air Base, at Mihail Kogălniceanu Airport
• 93rd Air Base, at Giarmata Airport -

The Capu Midia Surface-to-air Training and Air-to-Surface Shooting Range provides firing training, execution and evaluation facilities. It is located in Constanţa County, 20 kilometres (12 mi) north of the city of, Constanţa.

A MiG-21 LanceR C, in flight

Romanian Air Force IAR-330 SOCAT

Note: Three C-17 Globemaster III's are available through the Heavy Airlift Wing based in Hungary.[40]