Spain will send F-18 fighter jets to Romania to reinforce NATO's eastern flank
Spain will deploy the Paznic tactical aviation squadron to Romania to participate in NATO’s eAP-72 enhanced air patrol mission.
The contingent will carry out missions on the Alliance’s eastern flank over the next four months.
The mission will include approximately 200 service members from the Spanish Air and Space Forces. The core of the aviation group will consist of seven F-18M fighter jets. For the first two months, they will also be supported by an A400M transport aircraft, and during the final phase of the mission, three NH-90 helicopters will join the contingent to counter drones.
The Spanish military personnel will be based at Mihail Kogălniceanu Air Base, one of NATO’s key facilities in the Black Sea region. There, they will operate jointly with the Romanian military and other Alliance units.
The Spanish Ministry of Defense emphasized that the deployment of the unit is the country’s contribution to strengthening collective defense, deterring potential threats, and ensuring the security of NATO’s eastern flank.
Source: Spanish Ministry of Defense.
We previously reported that Spain is preparing a new aid package for Ukraine, which will include tanks.
We also note that Spain and other Western allies have sent Patriot air defense missiles to Ukraine.
