US Air Force confirmed that it relocated its MQ-9 unmanned aerial vehicle, along with personnel and support equipment to the 71st Air Base at Campia Turzii Air Base in Romania. According to the USAF, the decision to relocate the MQ-9 UAV to Romania was taken in order to ‘support of a range of operations on the continent that support our NATO allies’. The detachment will take part in cold weather operations and participate in various exercises all across the region.

USAF temporarily relocated its MQ-9 UAV to Romania / Picture: USAF

USAF temporarily relocated its MQ-9 UAV to Romania / Picture: USAF

MQ-9s deployment to Romania is expected to last through early spring. The relocation was fully coordinated with the Romanian government. Its goal is to ‘promote stability and security within the region and to strengthen relationships with NATO allies and other European partners’.

The unit, which was deployed to Romania, is a part of the 52nd Expeditionary Operations Group Detachment 2, which is normally deployed at Miroslawiec Air Base in Poland. US MQ-9 UAVs has been operating out of Poland since May 2018.

This is the second time that the detachment’s MQ-9 UAVs was deployed to Campia Turzii. The first time was from July to August 2019 while the runway at Miroslawiec AB was undergoing construction.