By T. Jayani, JadeTimes News
Six RAF Eurofighter Typhoons sit on the taxiway at Mihai Kogalniceanu (MK) airbase, with engines roaring on two as ground staff make final preparations for take off. Nearby, a cloud of dust rises over the construction site of a second 3.5km runway, while the hot northerly wind buffets both new and old hangars.
The MK airbase, named after a nearby village that honors a 19th century liberal politician, is set to become NATO's largest base in Europe, surpassing Ramstein in Germany. This expansion is a response to Russian President Vladimir Putin's claim that NATO is encroaching on Russia’s European flank, which he used to justify his war in Ukraine. In reaction, NATO has increased its military presence, with the MK base soon to host a squadron of Romanian F-16s recently acquired from Norway, MQ-9 Reaper drones, and a military city through which personnel from 32 NATO countries will rotate.
Located just 20km from the Black Sea coast and 300km from Odesa, the base is strategically positioned. Recently, Finnish troops joined the base's occupants. RAF pilot Flt Lt Charlie Tagg, on his third and final tour of duty at MK, noted the significant increase in US presence and infrastructure. He remarked that the invasion of Ukraine has altered both the areas over which NATO flies and the strategic posture of their mission. Previously, NATO pilots flew over international waters in the Black Sea, but now they stick to Romanian and Bulgarian territorial waters to avoid escalating tensions with Russia.
Tagg explained that while their mission was once primarily deterrence, it now serves to reassure NATO countries like Romania of their defense commitments. Although there have been no recent calls to intercept Russian planes, Tagg recounted past missions over the Baltic where NATO planes would shadow Russian aircraft to demonstrate NATO's active presence and gather intelligence.
At night, Tagg monitors the conflict in Ukraine from his radar screens, observing drone attacks and tracking both friendly and adversarial aircraft. He described the experience as surreal. Despite avoiding unnecessary encounters with Russian jets, there have been notable incidents, such as a near miss in September 2022 when a Russian pilot almost shot down a British plane, and in March 2023, when a US MQ-9 Reaper drone was downed by a Russian SU-27 jet over international waters.
Life at the MK base remains relatively calm. Seagulls and crows forage among cherry trees outside the base commander’s office, while Scott Delay from American Army Support Black Sea manages logistics for 1,840 US personnel. Delay emphasized the efforts to create a home like environment for soldiers, though they sometimes struggle with longer delivery times for online orders in Romania.
Before departing the base, Tag showed his plane to a visitor, explaining that while the Typhoon may appear aged, its weapons are continually upgraded, now capable of deploying three different types of bombs and equipped with new radars to detect and engage threats from greater distances.
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