The Chief of the Defence Command visited Romania

The Chief of the Defence Command, Lieutenant General Vesa Virtanen visited Romania 16-18 July 2024. The visitation was hosted by the Deputy Chief of Defence of the Romanian Armed Forces, Lieutenant General Dragoş-Dumitru Iacob.

During his visit, Lieutenant General Virtanen met with the leadership of the Romanian Armed Forces and inspected the Finnish detachment participating in the Air Policing and Air Shielding missions in the area. The visitation programme also included a meeting with Ambassador Leena Liukkonen.

Discussions with the Romanian Armed Forces covered, inter alia, the military situation in the Black Sea region, the development of the Romanian Armed Forces and Romania's experience of integrating its defence into the Alliance.

Lieutenant General Virtanen addresses the importance of dialogue between allies:

- I want to thank Lieutenant General Iacob and all participants for the good discussions and for the fruitful visit. As allies, it is important that we exchange views and build a common understanding of the evolving security environment on NATO's eastern flank. Finland is strongly committed to NATO's 360-degree security, as demonstrated by the presence of our fighter detachment in Romania. We are stronger together with our allies.

NATO's peacetime air defence tasks are carried out through the Air Policing and Air Shielding missions. Member states' air forces surveil and protect the integrity of Allied airspace through the standing Air Policing mission. The Air Shielding mission consists of an increased presence of fighter jets and ground-based air defence units in NATO's eastern member states.

Finnish F/A-18 Hornet fighter jets will contribute to the mission from 3 June to 31 July 2024. The Finnish F/A-18 Hornets will be QRA duty on alternate weeks with the Royal Air Force's Typhoon jets. The Finnish detachment deploying to Romania consists of a seven F/A-18 Hornet fighter jets and 90 airmen.

On the left, Chief of the Defence Command, Lieutenant General Vesa Virtanen and on the right, Commander of the Finnish Fighter Squadron, Major Toni Vanhatalo.

Lieutenant General Virtanen underlines the importance of the mission and excellent performance of the Finnish section:

- Finland's participation in NATO's Air Shielding operation shows that Finland bears responsibility for the security of the entire defence alliance. The feedback on the detachment's performance has been excellent, for which I would like to thank the participating personnel. In the Finnish Defence Forces, we have gained valuable experience from participating in a mission of this kind, which we can use in the future.

Lieutenant General Iacob thanks Lieutenant General Virtanen for his visit:

- I was honored to have Lieutenant General Virtanen as our guest in Romania. It gave us the opportunity to express our gratitude for the contribution of the Finnish Defence Forces to the deterrence and defence posture of the Alliance in the Black Sea region. It also gave me the chance to congratulate him for his country's accession to NATO and to exchange views on various security issues and challenges on the allied Eastern flank. His visit also opened new ways to further cooperate bilaterally and under the NATO umbrella.

Media requests:
Centralized media services of the Finnish Defence Command:
[email protected] / tel. 0299 510 975

_{More information of Air Shielding missions:}

_{Quick-reaction alert (QRA) duty and patrol flights will be carried out by armed fighter jets equipped with air-to-air missiles, cannons and countermeasures systems. The enhanced NATO air defence presence in the Black Sea region complements the capabilities of the Romanian and Bulgarian air forces. Read more: Finnish Air Force to participate in NATO missions in Romania in summer 2024.Link to an external website}

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