The U.S. military said Friday it was repositioning a squadron of F-16 war planes from Germany to Romania, „to reinforce regional security” amid soaring tensions with Russia over Ukraine.
The command of the U.S. Air Forces in Europe military didn’t specify how many F-16s were being moved, bur said the aircraft would land Friday at the air base of Fetesti, about 100 kilometers from the Black Sea. They will join Italian combat aircraft that are already deployed there.
The aircraft and crews will „work closely with allies in the Black Sea region to reinforce regional security during the current tensions caused by Russia’s military build-up near Ukraine,” the US command, which is based in Germany, said in a statement.
They will be responsible in particular for protecting NATO airspace in the region close to Crimea, which Russia annexed from Ukraine in 2014.
The aircraft will complete a range of air-to-air training maneuvers with NATO Allies to strengthen interoperability and the enhance communications link required to execute multinational air operations, the statement said.
U.S. President Joe Biden has sent 3,000 US troops to Germany, Poland and Romania to bolster allies on NATO’s eastern flank, as Western states fear a Russian invasion of Ukraine.
The move comes as Russia began large-scale military drills in Belarus, right on the border with Ukraine, which is at the center of tensions between Russia and the West.
Intense diplomatic efforts to defuse the crisis have not yielded results.
