Today, the Hon. Rob Nicholson, Minister of National Defence, announced six CF-18 fighter aircraft will leave tomorrow morning for Romania as part of the Government of Canada’s contributions to NATO measures to reassure Allies in Central and Eastern Europe. The announcement was made today during Question Period.
These fighter aircraft, along with support personnel, will be based out of Romania in order to conduct training activities in support of immediate reassurance measures. They will join Romanian and United States Air Force assets which are currently operating in the region.
Quick Facts
- The six CF-18 fighter aircraft come from 425 Tactical Fighter Squadron based out of 3 Wing in Bagotville, Québec.
- The CF-18 is Canada’s frontline multi-role fighter, and its pilots are trained to perform air defence, air superiority, aerospace testing and evaluation, training, and tactical support missions.
- The Government of Canada offered contributions to NATO reassurance measures in order to promote security and stability in Eastern and Central Europe. Fifteen operational planning staff have already deployed on April 22 to augment Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe staff in Casteau.
- The Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) have been a major contributor to NATO operations since the founding of the Alliance 65 years ago. Canada continues to provide modern, deployable capabilities to Allied missions and highly trained personnel to its command structure.
Quotes
“Canada stands alongside our NATO Allies as we respond to the ongoing situation in Ukraine. We are contributing to a number of military measures designed to reassure our Allies in Central and Eastern Europe. This deployment, in addition to the planning personnel already deployed to Belgium, demonstrates our commitment to the collective defence of our NATO Allies,” said Rob Nicholson, Minister of National Defence.
“This deployment of fighter aircraft to Romania is one of several meaningful and important ways that we are demonstrating our long-standing commitment to NATO, and I firmly believe the Royal Canadian Air Force is well positioned to carry out the tasks associated with this deployment,” said General Tom Lawson, Chief of Defence Staff.
