Romanian defense minister, US delegation visit F-16 Training Center

Defense minister Radu Miruţă received a delegation of the Congress of the United States of America led by Democratic senator Jeanne Shaheen on Monday, February 16. Together, they visited the F-16 Training Center in Feteşti.

The officials toured the facility, which was inaugurated in 2023 at the 86th Feteşti Air Base. Nowadays, the base "is an advanced training platform, unique at the European level, which provides Romanian, Ukrainian, and other allied and partner state pilots access to high-level training programs aligned with NATO standards,” officials of the ministry stated, according to News.ro.

Other NATO bases in Romania, such as those at Deveselu, Mihail Kogălniceanu, and Câmpia Turzii, were highlighted during subsequent discussions, as well as their role at the regional level.

At the same time, Romania’s firm commitment to the progressive supplementation of the defense budget was reaffirmed.

“The Romanian side showed particular interest in capitalizing on the financing mechanisms offered by the government of the United States for modernizing the Armed Forces, as well as in advancing the objectives established in the Roadmap regarding defense cooperation for 2020–2030,” the ministry added.

During the meeting, the Democratic senator noted that the “subject of Greenland is a closed one” and that there is strong bipartisan support for NATO in the US Congress. She also dismissed a Republican-authored report in the US Congress that blamed the EU, not Russia, for interfering in several elections, including the cancelled 2024 presidential election in Romania.

Last month, US defense officials announced that American troops equipped with M1A2 Abrams tanks will be deployed to Romania as part of the rotational presence on NATO's southeastern flank. The move does not imply an increase in the overall number of US troops stationed in Romania, but rather an upgrade in capabilities.

(Photo source: Radu Miruţă on Facebook)