David Brennan
Romania has now begun construction of what will eventually be the NATO alliance's largest European military base, as the transatlantic bloc seeks to bolster its capabilities in the Black Sea region with an eye on Russian activity there.
The $2.7 billion project will expand the Romanian Air Force 57th Air Base Mihail Kogălniceanu, which is located close to the Black Sea port city of Constanța. The new facility will have a perimeter of almost 20 miles, cover around 11 square miles, and will be home to some 10,000 NATO personnel and their families.
Romania has long been a key hub for NATO operations in the Black Sea region. Thousands of U.S. troops have cycled through the country on training and security missions since the beginning of Russia's full-scale war on Ukraine. American combat and surveillance aircraft regularly operate from there as part of NATO's policing operations.
Euronews reported this weekend that work on the base's basic infrastructure—such as access roads and the power grid—has begun. Eventually, several new runways are expected to be built to support the operation of various types of military aircraft.
Nicolae Crețu, the commander of the air base, said there will be "maintenance hangars, fuel stores, ammunition, equipment, aviation technical materials, simulators, feeding facilities, accommodation; everything is needed to support the operation and missions of a base of this size extent."
French Leclerc tanks are pictured at the Cincu military training area during an exercise by the NATO Enhanced Forward Presence battlegroup in Romania, on December 8, 2022. The Black Sea nation occupies a pivotal strategic location.
NATO began building its network of four Enhanced Forward Presence multinational battlegroups in the Baltic region following Russia's annexation of Crimea in 2014. in 2014. After the start of the full-scale invasion in February 2022, the alliance reinforced those missions and established four additional battlegroups in Bulgaria, Hungary, Romania and Slovakia.
France is the framework nation for the Romanian battlegroup, with Belgium, Luxembourg, North Macedonia, Poland, Portugal, and the U.S. all contributing forces.
Bucharest is looking towards closer cooperation with its NATO allies—and the U.S. in particular—as the Black Sea becomes an increasingly fraught theater of confrontation between Ukraine and Russia, as well as between Moscow and its Western rivals.
"Romania has already established itself as an anchor of the eastern flank of NATO and the EU," Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu told Newsweek in June.
"Romania is, and will continue to be, a reliable ally of the U.S. that is dedicated to stability and peace in Central and Eastern Europe. We are determined to strongly contribute to the transatlantic community and steadfastly support democratic values and fundamental rights and freedoms.
"Strengthening Romania's strategic partnership with the U.S. across economic and security dimensions is a top priority," Ciolacu said. "Efforts have already been carried out and more are currently underway to bolster security along NATO's eastern flank. In this regard, I want to express my full appreciation for the U.S. military presence in Romania for our fruitful work together.
"We are on 24/7 alert for Russian influence and interference operations in Romania and we have successfully countered such attempts on several occasions," Ciolacu added. "The constant threat of Russian activities in Romania requires that we take their covert and hybrid threats very seriously.
"Russia has historically loomed over Romania and the European eastern flank as a source of instability, oppression, and aggression. As such, we are constantly working to counter any and all Russian attempts to destabilize Romania and our partners."
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