Mission Aigle | |
---|---|
Mission Aigle | |
Active | 28 February 2022 – present |
Allegiance | NATO |
Type | Army |
Size | 1,000 |
Part of | NATO Enhanced Forward Presence |
The Mission Aigle is a French-led military mission deployed to Romania following the activation of the Graduated Response Plans by the Supreme Allied Commander Europe as a response to the Russian Invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Following this decision, France sent troops to Romania on 28 February 2022 in order to strengthen the Alliance's deterrent and defensive posture against Russia. [1]
On 28 February 2022, France deployed a spearhead battalion of the rapid response force to Romania. [1] Since 1 May, the multinational battalion constituted the Battle Group Forward Presence (BGFP) in Romania, with France as the lead nation. [2] For the first time, France assumed the role of leading nation in a NATO reassurance mission. [3] The BGFP is a multinational battalion tasked with reinforcing the operational capabilities of the deployed troops. It is under the command of the Multinational Brigade South-East based in Craiova. The Battle Group Forward Presence takes part in joint actions and missions based on the shared foundation of NATO standards, which enable the multinational forces to work together with unified concepts and methods. [2]
To house the BGFP, a new military base was constructed in Cincu. The base consists of hangars, ammunition depots, as well as, auxiliary buildings for civilian purposes. The military town was constructed by a multinational detachment of engineers, and the costs were covered by France and Romania with construction materials acquired from Romania. [4] It was reported in November that the French soldiers were living in "deplorable" conditions with insufficient food, poor hygiene, and bad heating. [5] These reports were dismissed by the French embassy in Romania as no formal complaints regarding the conditions at the base were received. While living conditions were rudimentary during the construction works, these improved significantly once the base was completed. [6] The soldiers have access to hot water, electricity, internet connection and live in small heated rooms in groups of three or four. [7]
On 18 October, French Leclercs of the 7th Armored Brigade departed for Romania. [8] The tanks arrived in Voila on 16 November. [9] On 6 December, the tanks took part in the first live fire exercise at Cincu during exercise Eagle Zori. [10]
Aigle means "Eagle" in French. It was chosen as a reference to the Romanian coat of arms. The four flags illustrate the engagement of forces from France, Belgium and the Netherlands in support of Romania. [11]
As of January 2023, the multinational force in Romania is made up of 1000 soldiers, organized in the following units: [12]
Participating in the mission are forces from France, Belgium and the Netherlands. [11] From 21 March 2023, Luxembourg also joined the Aigle mission. [13]
The BGFP consists of 700 soldiers, of which 80 Dutch soldiers, and is commanded by Colonel Laurent Luisetti. [14] It is equipped with the following: [15]
Model | Number |
---|---|
Leclerc tank | 13 |
VBCI | 24 |
Véhicule de l'Avant Blindé | 19 |
Petit Véhicule Protégé | 19 |
Véhicule Blindé Léger | 32 |
ACMAT VT4 | 34 |
CAESAR [16] | 4 |
Lance Roquette Unitaire [17] | 3 |
120mm mortar | 3 |
Transport trucks | 10+ |
From 6 May, at the request of the Romanian authorities and NATO, the French forces deployed the MAMBA ground-to-air defence system at the Capu Midia base. The system is composed of several interconnected modules. Each launch unit can salvo fire up to eight ASTER 30 missiles. To increase the efficiency, the system is connected and integrated via a tactical data link to the Romanian, and NATO defense systems, which command it. Following a test phase, the MAMBA system was certified and is now fully integrated in the NATO Integrated Air Missile Defence (IAMD). [18]
The French Armed Forces are the military forces of France. They consist of four military branches – the Army, the Navy, the Air and Space Force and the National Gendarmerie. The National Guard serves as the French Armed Forces' military reserve force. As stipulated by France's constitution, the president of France serves as commander-in-chief of the French military. France has the eighth largest defence budget in the world and the second largest in the European Union (EU). It also has the largest military by size in the EU. A 2015 Credit Suisse report ranked the French Armed Forces as the world's sixth most powerful military.
The Luxembourg Armed Forces are the national military force of Luxembourg. The army has been a fully volunteer military since 1967. As of December 2018, it has 939 personnel.
The Niger Armed Forces includes military armed force service branches, paramilitary services branches and the National Police of Niger. The Army, Air Force and the National Gendarmerie are under the Ministry of Defense whereas the National Guard and the National Police fall under the command of the Ministry of Interior. With the exception of the National Police, all military and paramilitary forces are trained in military fashion. The President of Niger is the supreme commander of the entire armed forces. The National Assembly of Niger passed a statute for the Army of Niger in November 2020, planning for the army's size to increase from 25,000 personnel in 2020, to 50,000 in 2025 and finally 100,000 in 2030.
The Implementation Force (IFOR) was a NATO-led multinational peace enforcement force in Bosnia and Herzegovina under a one-year mandate from 20 December 1995 to 20 December 1996 under the codename Operation Joint Endeavour.
The Leclerc is a third-generation French main battle tank developed and manufactured by Nexter Systems. It was named in honour of Marshal Philippe Leclerc de Hauteclocque, a commander of the Free French Forces, who led the 2nd Armoured Division in World War II.
The Romanian Land Forces is the army of Romania, and the main component of the Romanian Armed Forces. Since 2007, full professionalization and a major equipment overhaul have transformed the nature of the Land Forces.
The Romanian Air Force (RoAF) (Romanian: Forțele Aeriene Române) is the air force branch of the Romanian Armed Forces. It has an air force headquarters, an operational command, five airbases and an air defense brigade. Reserve forces include one air base and three airfields.
The Romanian Air Force 71st Air Base is located in the commune Luna near the city of Câmpia Turzii, in Cluj County. The 71st Air Base was founded on 1 June 2002 from the previous 71st Fighter and Bombardment Base, according to the Romanian Armed Forces reorganization program. It is named after Emanoil Ionescu, a general who commanded the 1st Air Corps of the Royal Romanian Air Force during World War II.
The Multinational Brigade South-East is an infantry brigade of the Romanian Land Forces. Until April 2017 the brigade was named 2nd Infantry Brigade "Rovine", but has since become one of Romania's contributions to NATO. The "Rovine" was deployed to Afghanistan and Iraq for peacekeeping missions.
1 German-Netherlands Corps (1GNC) is a multinational formation consisting of units from both the Royal Netherlands Army and German Army. The corps' headquarters also takes part in NATO Response Force readiness rotations. It is situated in Münster, formerly the headquarters of the German Army's I. Corps out of which 1 German-Netherlands Corps evolved. The corps has national and multinational operational responsibilities.
The New Caledonian Armed Forces or FANC is the name by which the French armed forces based in New Caledonia are referred to and also is a subdivision of the French armed forces.
The current structure of the Romanian Land Forces is as follows:
Enhanced Forward Presence (EFP) is a NATO-allied forward-deployed defense and deterrence military force in Northern, Central and Eastern Europe. This posture in Northern Europe through Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania and in Central Europe through Poland, Slovakia and Hungary and in Eastern Europe through Romania and Bulgaria, is in place to protect and reassure the security of NATO's Northern, Central and Eastern European member states on NATO's eastern flank.
Headquarters Multinational Division Southeast is NATO's command and control military body in the South-East region under the Multinational Corps Southeast. The operational control is handled by the Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR). The headquarters are located in Bucharest, Romania. Established on 31 August 2015, the HQ MND-SE is the restructure of the former Romanian 1st Infantry Division.
Premier-Maître L'Her (F792) is a D'Estienne d'Orves-class aviso in the French Navy.
The Capu Midia Training Range, officially named the Air Defense Training School "Brigadier General Ion Bungescu", is a Romanian training range and an air defense school subordinated to the General Staff of the Air Force. It is located near the village of Corbu in Constanța County, 20 kilometres (12 mi) north of the city of Constanța.
The Headquarters Multinational Corps Southeast in Sibiu, Romania, is a NATO corps-level command and control structure under the operational control of the Allied Joint Force Command Naples. With Romania as the framework nation, the Corps is integrated within NATO's military command structure.
Fire Shield is a military exercise that takes place in Moldova and Romania. The exercise aims to increase the interoperability level and improve the coordination process of military operations in a multinational framework. Since 2016, the exercise is held on rotation at the Bulboaca and Smârdan training ranges in Moldova, and Romania respectively.