Paznic Detachment, the Spanish fighters that fly from the shores of the Black Sea

Spain currently has two military contingents in Romania as part of NATO's reinforced deployment on its eastern flank.

The Spanish Marine Infantry face harsh winter conditions in Cincu, Romania
The deployment of military helicopters from Spain and other allied countries in Romania

A few days ago we saw one of these contingents here, the Romanian Marine Infantry Force I (FIMAR-R-I), based in Cincu. The other Spanish contingent in Romania is made up of two Air Force Detachments: the Tigru Detachment, with an air surveillance radar and deployed since October 2022 in Schitu, and the Paznic Detachment, made up of fighter aircraft on an air policing mission and deployed at the Mihail Kogalniceanu Air Base, in southeastern Romania (on the Black Sea), since April 2024.

Previously, the Air Force had the Viespe Detachment in Romania at Fetesti Air Base, between November 2022 and June 2023, with two rotations: one of 8 EF-18M fighters from the 15th Wing, relieved in April 2023 by 8 EF-18Ms from the 12th Wing. The reason for these deployments is the same: the war situation in Ukraine, a country bordering Romania, due to the Russian invasion on February 24, 2022 and, before that, the conflict created with the illegal Russian annexation of the Ukrainian region of Crimea.

It should be noted that the first deployment of the Paznic Detachment took place in 2021, with 6 Eurofighters from the 11th Wing. The Detachment was re-formed at the beginning of April 2024, with a two-week deployment by Eurofighters from the 14th Wing, based in Albacete. In August, the Paznic Detachment once again raised the Spanish Flag, this time with eight EF-18M fighters from the 12th Wing (based in Torrejón de Ardoz) and the 15th Wing (based in Zaragoza).

On November 27th, Eurofighters from the 14th Wing relieved the EF-18Ms of the Paznic Detachment in their air policing mission in Romania. The General Staff of the Defense (EMAD) has published today an excellent report in 4K quality on the recent deployment of the EF-18Ms of the 12th Wing and the 15th Wing in Romania:

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Photos: Estado Mayor de la Defensa / NATO Air Command.