THE ROYAL CANADIAN Air Force (RCAF) assumed responsibility for the NATO Enhanced Air Policing (eAP) mission from the UK’s Royal Air Force during a ceremony at Mihail Kogălniceanu air base in Romania on August 30. The RAF’s No 135 Expeditionary Air Wing had carried out the quick reaction alert (QRA) mission since April. Four Typhoon FGR4 fighters that were flown and maintained by personnel from No 1 (Fighter) Squadron and No II (Army Co-operation) Squadron at RAF Lossiemouth, Scotland had been deployed to the base in southern Romania. While there, the Typhoons conducted eight scrambles and intercepted 20 Russian aircraft that were flying over the Black Sea towards Romanian airspace. During its time at the Black Sea base, the detachment also conducted exercises with Romanian, Bulgarian, Hungarian, Croatian and American military units that included air- to-air, air/land and air/maritime integration missions.
