RAF presence in Romania proving to be a ‘strong deterrent’ to Russia
A senior officer from the RAF has said their presence in Romania has changed the behaviour of Russia because they are a “strong deterrent”.
Around 150 British personnel are currently stationed in the eastern European city of Constanta as part of Nato’s enhanced Air Policing (EAP) mission alongside American and Romanian forces.
The operation was established to deter Russian aggression and the RAF is providing a large portion of the numbers through 135 Expeditionary Air Wing (EAW) based at RAF Leeming.
Taking a leading role in EAP, the RAF sent four Typhoon jets to the Mihail Kogalniceanu airbase – situated just over 1,000km away from Russia on the other side of the Black Sea.
Squadron Leader Ellis Williams, one of the Typhoon pilots stationed in Romania, said the jet is “extremely capable” but there is always a way to enhance it.
He said: “There are extra capabilities that we would like 0 Wing Commander Chris Ball says the mission is great value
to enable us to perform a high level of mission – but that goes across defence.
“Ultimately, almost every capability we have could be improved if there is money allocated but we need to prioritise. So, do we have enough? To fulfil this role for example, absolutely.”
Speaking of the difference between the capabilities of the British jets and the Romanian aircraft, Sqn Ldr Williams said the Typhoons acted as a strong deterrent to Russia.
He said: “We have an incredibly capable fighter aircraft and we operate here alongside the Romanian Mig 21s and there’s a generational gap between the capabilities. When we are here we notice a very strong difference in the behaviour of the Russians because we are a strong deterrent.”
The British personnel were deployed to Romania on 17 April for four months as part of Op Biloxi, policing the skies above the Black Sea.
Asked whether his squadron is fully resourced, Wing Commander Chris Ball said: “I think we are getting great value out of this mission because, you could ask, why are we airpolicing Romania? Well, we are demonstrating we are committed partners within Nato.”
On a potential Russian threat, Wing Cdr Ball said: “Here, ourselves, we don’t have a high threat level against us, we are conducting a peacetime defensive operation.
“We are part of that Nato alliance, we would take collective decisions if ever we push towards Article Five – collective defence – so what we are doing here is policing the skies and also taking that opportunity to integrate into Nato, train with our Nato partners, so that we are stronger and more cohesive.”