Romania to host multinational military exercise involving joint training of C-27J Spartan military aircraft pilots

Romania will be hosting next month a military exercise European Spartan 2019 designed as joint training for C-27J Spartan military aircraft pilots, the Romanian Defence Ministry (MApN) said Thursday in a press statement. According to the cited source, the European Spartan 2019 military exercise will take place May 13-24, 2019, at the 90th Airlift Base / Otopeni as part of the events conducted by the Romanian Presidency of the Council of the European Union. "The exercise is part of a series of activities planned and organised by the European Defence Agency (EDA) and the Romanian Air Force at the 90th Airlift Base / Otopeni under the EATF (European Air Transport Fleet) programme, being designed as a multinational training event involving air transportation ," according to MApN. The countries participating in the exercise, alongside Romania, are Bulgaria, Italy, Lithuania and Slovakia, but observers from other states that own such aircraft, whether European or even non-European, such as Australia, Greece or the United States, are also expected to attend. The military exercise European Spartan 2019 is unique in the EATF programme and is designed as joint training C-27J Spartan military aircraft users, to develop interoperability in tactical operation and maintenance. In this exercise, Romania has the status of host nation and the Romanian Air Force personnel has an important role in the planning team. The C-27J SPARTAN aircraft is designed to perform tactical missions in peacekeeping and humanitarian operations, providing direct air transport to the war zone, day and night. The airplane is capable of transporting forces, equipment, vehicles, light artillery, various equipment and materials and assuring the parachuting /debarkation of forces, materials and equipment. It can operate for long periods of time without direct support from the deployment base, and in severe weather. The military exercise is based on a complex scenario, which involves the practice and the consolidation of the flight mission techniques, landing on soil and short-distance tracks, personnel and materials parachuting, co-operation with combat aircraft, co-ordination of air and land actions, medical evacuation, while also exercising aircraft maintenance enforcement procedures in multinational teams. Such events are essential to the harmonisation of European and NATO air transport operations in order to improve the interoperability of air transport crews and, ultimately, to make operations more efficient in a multinational context, according to MApN. AGERPRES (RO- author: Cristian Lupascu, editor: Mihai Simionescu; EN - author: Corneliu-Aurelian Colceriu, editor: Rodica State)