Fortele Aeriene Romane – Introduction Relatively little is known about the interesting history of the Romanian Air Force or Fortele Aeriene Romane (FAR) as it is called since the dramatic events that took place in December 1989. Despite the fall of the dictatorial regime of Nicolae Ceausescu in that year, little more about the history of the Romanian Air Force was revealed throughout the 1990s. Things have changed somewhat for the better over the past few years and it is now time to put the spotlight on this very interesting Air Force that recently joined NATO. Being aware that many more details are still unknown today we hope that this article helps in more information becoming public in the future. History Military aviation history in started as long ago as 1893 when the first military aviation unit was formed equipped with observation balloons. In 1910 Aurel Vlaicu constructed his own aircraft and taught himself how to fly the aircraft. Aurel Vlaicu took to the air for the first time on 17 June 1910 and this date is still celebrated today as the birthday of Romanian aviation. Pioneers like Aurel Vlaicu and others like Henri Coanda who in 1910 built the very first jet aircraft in the world, the Coanda-1910, are still being honoured today. On 1 April 1913 the predecessor of the Romanian Air Force was formed being only the fifth nation in the world to use aircraft in combat during the Balkans War in 1913. During the First World War the Corpul Aerian Roman – Romanian Air Corps, which was formed in 1915, successfully fought the German Air Force before the country was occupied by German- Austrian forces. Sovereignty was regained in 1918 and a new Air Force was created as Divizia 1 Aeriana under the Directorate of Army Aviation. After a short period of neutrality in the 1930s Romania began to strengthen its ties with Germany and this eventually resulted in Romania joining the Axis Tripartite Pact, the pact between Germany, Italy and Japan which was signed in 1940 and joined by Hungary three days before Romania signed up on 23 November 1940. On 22 June 1941 Romania went to war joining Germany in Operation Barbarossa, the invasion of the Soviet Union. A coup by antifascist forces in August 1944 ended the cooperation with the Germans and Romania was eventually occupied by the Soviets after WWII. Despite this a new Air Force was created in 1947 named the Fortele Aeriene ale Republicii Populare Romane. The Soviet troops eventually departed Romania in 1958 after Romania joined the Warsaw Pact in 1955.

The basis for the Romanian Air Force as we know it today was established in 1951 when a total of eight Fighter Regiments - Regimentul Aviatie de Vânâtoare Reactie (Regt.Av.Vt.R.) were established under control of three Fighter Divisions - Divizia Aviatie de Vânâtoare Reactie along with a number of support and training regiments. Various changes took place during the first five years, mainly consisting of regiments changing between Division and air base. By 1956 the situation was as follows: Order of Battle September 1956

Divisia 23 Aviatie de Vânâtoare Reactie, HQ Otopeni Div. HQ flight MiG-15bis, S-102, MiG-15DC Regimentul 125 Av.Vt. R. S-102, MiG-15DC Silistea-Gumesti Regimentul 172 Av.Vt. R. S-102, MiG-15DC Mihail Kogalniceanu Regimentul 206 Av.Vt. R. MiG-17PF, MiG-15bis, MiG-15DC Bucuresti-Otopeni

Every unit had also one Fieseler Storch and 3-4 Yak-11s on strength for liaison purposes. The total number of aircraft on strength with the 23rd Air Division was 76 S-102, 16 MiG-15bis, 10 MiG-17F, 10 MiG-15DC (UTi's), 13 Yak-11 and 4 Fi-Storch.

Divisia 66 Aviatie de Vânâtoare Reactie, HQ Craiova Div. HQ flight S-102, Fi-Storch Regimentul 158 Av.Vt. R. MiG-17, MiG-15bis, S-102, MiG-15DC Craiova Regimentul 226 Av.Vt. R. MiG-15bis, S-102, MiG-15DC Caracal-Deveselu Regimentul 227 Av.Vt. R. MiG-15bis, S-102, MiG-15DC Craiova

Every unit had also one Fieseler Storch and 3-4 Yak-11s on strength. The total number on strength with the 66th Air Division was 68 S-102, 21 MiG-15bis, 2 MiG-17F, 10 MiG-15DC, 8 Yak-11 and 2 Fi-Storch.

Divisia 97 Aviatie de Vânâtoare Reactie, HQ Timisoara Div. HQ flight MiG-15bis, S-102, Fi-Storch Regimentul 135 Av.Vt. R. Yak-23, Yak-17, Po-2 Caransebes Regimentul 294 Av.Vt. R. MiG-15bis, S-102, MiG-15DC, Yak-11 Timisoara-Giarmata

The total number on strength with the 97th Air Division was 31 S-102, 9 MiG-15bis, 2 MiG-17, 3 MiG-15DC, 43 Yak-23, 5 Yak- 17UTi, 9 Yak-11, 1 Po-2, 1 Fi-Storch

Divisia 68 Aviatie Asalt Scoala Militara de aviatie 'Aurel Vlaicu', HQ Tecuci Regimentul de Aviatie Scoala Fasa I Various Buzau Regimentul de Aviatie Scoala Fasa II 14x MiG-15DC, 2x S-102 Tecuci Esc.de Perfectionare Piloti de Vanat. 11x MiG-15, 7x MiG-15DC Focsani

Regimentul 282 Av.Cc 2 IL-28, 5 IL-28U, 2 IL-28R, 3 Tu-2, Titu-Boteni 2 He-111, 1 IAR814, 3 Yak-11, 4 Po-2

Regimentul 239 Av.Bomb. Bucuresti-Otopeni Patrula 1106 Av.remorcat mansa 2 IL-28, 3 IL-10 ??

Regimentul 282 had been redesignated from Regimentul 282 Bombardament into Regimentul 282 Aviatie Cercetare in 1956 and into Escadrila 282 Av.Cc in 1958.

Throughout the 1950s various variants of the MiG-15, as can be seen above, formed the backbone of the Romanian Air Force equipping seven Regiments with approximately 30 single-seaters on strength of each regiment along with a small number of MiG- 15UTIs, called MiG-15DC (Dubl Comand) in Romanian service as well as a small number of liaison aircraft. In addition also moderate numbers of MiG-17s served in some regiments. By 1956 all Yak-23 'Flora' of which 62 had entered service in 1952 in three regiments along with a small number of Yak-17UTI, reportedly five, were concentrated in one regiment. The Yak-23 was retired from service in 1958 when the type was surplus to requirement due to the continuing deliveries of MiG-15s. MiG-15s in service included Soviet-built aircraft as well as large numbers of MiG-15 variants that were licence-built in Czechoslovakia comprising of 204 S-102 (standard MiG-15) and 42 CS-102 (MiG-15UTI). According to Romanian sources, Soviet built aircraft comprised of 159 MiG-15s, 50 MiG-15bis and 59 MiG-15UTI. The first of a limited number of PP-1 radar equipped MiG-17PFs, (according to some sources twelve aircraft) entered service in 1955 serving alongside the MiG-15 in Regt.206 Av.Vt.R. at Otopeni (and from 9 August 1958 at Borcea-Fetesti, then called Cocargeaua). In addition also numbers of MiG-17Fs entered service around the same time with a total estimated at 48.

Another type that served from the late 1950s was the impressive Ilushin IL-28 Beagle which served the in the Romanian AF in bomber and electronic warfare and reconnaissance tasks. Five UIL-28s trainers were delivered in 1955 and one in 1957, four IL- 28B bombers arrived in 1956 and two in 1958, two IL-28Rs were delivered to Romania in 1959 and one in 1961. A number of further reorganisations in 1959 and 1961 resulted in the forming of the units as we basically still know them today: Order of Battle 1959

Comandamentului Aviatiei Militare Escadrila 38 Av.Cc (ex 282) Borcea-Fetesti

Divisia 15 Aviatie de Vânâtoare Tactica, HQ Otopeni Regimentul 86 Av.Vt. (ex 206) Borcea-Fetesti Regimentul 57 Av.Vt. (ex 172) Mihail Kogalniceanu Regimentul 49 Av.Vt. (ex 125) Alexeni

Divisia 21 Aviatie de Vânâtoare Tactica, HQ Craiova Regimentul 91 Av.Vt. (ex 226) Caracal-Deveselu Regimentul 67 Av.Vt. (ex 158) Craiova Regimentul 34 Av.Vt. (ex 227) Craiova

Divisia 34 Aviatie de Vânâtoare Tactica, HQ Timisoara Regimentul 93 Av.Vt. (ex 294) Timisoara-Giarmata Regimentul 37 Av.Vt. (ex 135) Caransebes

By May 1961 Divisia 15 Av.Vt.T was renamed into Divisia 16 Ap AAT while Divisia 21 Av.Vt.T was disbanded altogether with two of its subsidiary regiments transferred to Divisia 34 Av.Vt.T. Of the previous Divisia 21, Regimentul 34 Av.Vt. was disbanded while of the regiments under control of Divisia 34, Regimentul 37 Av.Vt. was disbanded.

In 1958 the first MiG-19s arrived in Romania albeit in moderate numbers, the type equipped the first Escadrilles of three Regiments with the 1st Escadrila of Regt.226 Av.Vt.R. at Deveselu being the first unit to reequip with the MiG-19 followed by Regt.206 Av.Vt.R. at Borcea and Regt.294 Av.Vt.R. at Timisoara-Giarmata. In total twelve MiG-19Ps and ten MiG-19PMs were in service until the type was retired in 1974.

Both Regimentul 49 and 67 were transformed into tactical regiments and redesignated as such becoming Regt.49 Av.Vt.B. (Aviatie Vânâtoare Bombardement) at Alexeni and Regt.67 Av.Vt.B at Craiova, operating the S-102. The 1st Escadrila of Regt.49 operated the MiG-15bis while the 1st Escadrila of Regt.67 was equipped with the MiG-17PF. Regt.49 relocated to Ianca in September 1965 where it remained until the unit disbanded in 2002.

In 1962 Regt.93 Av.Vt. at Timisoara-Giarmata was the first unit to receive the MiG-21 Fishbed. The unit which was at the time temporarily-based at Deveselu took delivery of the first twelve MiG-21F-13s in February 1962. A second batch of twelve aircraft followed in August 1963 when Regt.57 Av.Vt. at Mihail Koganiceanu was equipped with one squadron MiG-21F-13s. Other types on strength with the regiment were the MiG-17 of which the unit had eleven and the MiG-15 of which there were 35 on strength as well as six MiG-15UTI. Deliveries of further Fishbeds continued throughout the 1960s with the MiG-21PF entering service in 1965 followed by the MiG-21PFM in the period 1966-1968. With more Fishbeds becoming available the MiG-21F-13s that were previously only assigned to Regt.57 and Regt.93 were also based with the Regt.86 Av.Vt. at Borcea and Regt.91 Av.Vt. at Deveselu. Regt.86 at Borcea became an all Fishbed unit when the last MiG-15s were retired by the unit by the late sixties and the unit was equipped with the MiG-21F-13 and MiG-21PF and from 1974 the MiG-21PFM. According to other sources the unit operated the MiG-21F-13 in two squadrons and the MiG-19 in the third squadron before the regiment reequipped with the MiG- 21PF in 1969. In 1972 the Escadrila 31 C.c was established at Timisoara-Giarmata. The unit was equipped with the MiG-21R of which ten were delivered between 1968 and 1972. MiG-21 deliveries continued through 1975 with a considerable number of MiG- 21Ms and MiG-21MFs entering service which made the MiG-21 the most important fighter by far from that time onwards.

Also entering service in 1972 was the Harbin Hong-5 which is a Chinese licence-built IL-28. The latter was already in service with the Romanian Air Force and was eventually replaced by their Chinese-built counterparts.

The growing gap between Romania and the Soviet Union resulted in the development of the IAR-93 also known as Orao ('Vultur' in Romanian), actually the Yugoslavian name, together with Yugoslavia called the YUROM program with the first flight taking place on 31 October 1974. In 1965 the name of the Air Force was changed into the Fortele Aeriene ale Republicii Socialiste Romane - Air Force of the Socialist Republic of Romania.

Entering service from 1966 was the L-29 Delfin which re-equipped the Scoala Militară Superioră de Ofiteri de Aviatie ‘Aurel Vlaicu’ replacing the MiG-15UTI in the intermediate training role. Advanced training was undertaken at Bacau at the Centrul de Instructie al Aviatiei which by 1969 was equipped with MiG-15s and MiG-21s, the unit later standardised on the MiG-21 of which it operated various versions in the years that followed including the MiG-21PF, PFM and M. Other types in service for training during the 1950s and 1960s were local fabricates such as the Yak-11, Yak-18 and the IAR-818.

Transports and in service during the above period included unknown numbers of Li-2s and IL-14s and Mi-1 and Mi-4 helicopters. Only little is known about the transport and units but the helicopters were probably assigned to several Escadrila Elicoptere while transport aircraft were operating under control of the 49 Transport Group (Romanian designation unknown) which was reportedly established in 1949, and Flotilla 50. Both units were merged into the Grupul 90 Aviatia Transport named ‘Gheorghe Banciulescu’ It is known that Regt.61 Elicoptere at Titu-Boteni was formed as Escadrila 126 Elicoptere on 19 September 1976 operating the IAR-316B. The arrival of the IAR-330 in 1978 resulted in the unit becoming a Regiment. Similarly Regt.73 Elicoptere. at Caransebes was established as Escadrila 131 Elicoptere on 1 October 1982 before being redesignated into Regt.73 Elicoptere on 1 August 1984. The number plate of Esc.131 Elicoptere was later adopted by a training squadron at Alexeni.

By the end of the 1970s new aircraft types entered service. Among these was the MiG-23MF Flogger-B of which the first aircraft arrived in Romania in 1978 together with a small number of MiG-23UB Flogger-C two-seaters. Eventually three squadrons based at Mihail Koganiceanu and Timisoara-Giarmata were equipped with the MiG-23. On 30 June 1982 Escadrila 48 Av.Vt was established under control of Regt.91Av.Vt at Deveselu flying the MiG-21. On 30 June 1986 the unit was transformed into Regt.71 Av.Vt and on 9 June 1987 it was subsequently based at the former reserve base Campia Turzii in Transylvania. Romania and The Warsaw Pact Despite the fact that Romania joined the Warsaw Pact in 1955 it became a maverick within the alliance starting in the late 1950s when Romania ceased sending its officers to the Soviet Union for military education and training. From 1962 it stopped hosting Warsaw Pact exercises on its territory and by the late 1960s it had completely stopped participating in Warsaw Pact exercises. The Romanian criticism reached a climax following the Soviet-led WarPac invasions in Czechoslovakia, one of Romania's closest allies. As a result Romanian forces were put on alert to fight a possible Soviet invasion of Romania. Large troop movements along the borders with Bulgaria, Hungary and the Soviet Union in late 1968 implicated a similar action in Romania as happened earlier in Czechoslovakia. Following Romania's strong disapproval of the invasion is Czechoslovakia massive Warsaw Pact manoeuvres took place along its borders to put political pressure on the Romanian government resulting in the mobilisation of a large number of Romanian forces and the establishment of the paramilitary Patriotic Guards with an initial strength of 100,000 civilians to provide a mechanism for the participation of the countrys population in a system of total national defence. A major Soviet exercise named 'South 71' was launched in June 1971 short before Ceausescu's visit to China. During this exercise the Soviet Union mobilized twelve army divisions while the Soviet Navy conducted heavy operations off the Romanian coast. All this was an expression of the Soviet disapproval of Ceausescu's visit which was the first visit of a Warsaw Pact head of state since the Sino-Soviet split in the late 1950s and for maintaining good relations with its communist rival. 'South 71' forced Romania into a partial mobilization but did not disrupt Ceausescu's trip to China. More of such Soviet intimidations occurred during the 1970s and 1980s with Romania maintaining and even further developing its autonomous position within the Warsaw Pact while not being afraid to criticise and opposing Soviet politics and other military actions. Romania remained a Warsaw Pact member state in 1989, but retained its well- established reputation as a maverick within the Soviet alliance. It maximized its autonomy within the boundaries of the Warsaw Pact, minimized its participation, and avoided an outright withdrawal from the alliance, which the Soviet Union would not have tolerated. Despite its exceptional position within the Warsaw Pact the Romanian Air Force continued to receive modern military hardware from the Soviet Union and sending pilots there for both type conversion as well as shooting practice at the ranges in Astrachan. Order of Battle November 1990

Statul Major al Fortelor Aeriene, HQ Bucuresti Regimentul 57 Aviatie Vânâtoare Mihail Kogalniceanu MiG-23 (28), MiG-29 (13) Regimentul 86 Aviatie Vânâtoare Borcea-Fetesti MiG-21 (46) Regimentul 91 Aviatie Vânâtoare Caracal-Deveselu MiG-21 (53) Regimentul 93 Aviatie Vânâtoare Timisoara-Giarmata MiG-21 (32), MiG-23 (14) Regimentul 94 Elicoptere Alexeni Mi-8 (19), IAR-316 (8) Escadrila 131 Elicoptere Alexeni IAR-330 (3), Mi-8 (3), IAR-316 (4) Centrul de Instructie a Aviatiei Bacau MiG-21 (47)

Divizia 59 Aviatie, HQ Cluj-Napoca Regimentul 71 Aviatie Vânâtoare Campia Turzii MiG-21 (44) Regimentul 58 Elicoptere Sibiu-Turnisor IAR-316 (13), IAR-330 (16) Regimentul 73 Elicoptere Caransebes IAR-316 (15), IAR-330 (16) Escadrila 31 Aviatie Cercetare Timisoara-Giarmata MiG-21 (16)

Divizia 70 Aviatie, HQ Otopeni Escadrila 38 Aviatie Cercetare Borcea-Fetesti H-5/IL-28U? (15) Regimentul 49 Aviatie Vânâtoare si V. Bombard. Ianca MiG-15 (73), IAR-93 (13) Regimentul 67 Aviatie Vânâtoare si V. Bombard. Craiova MiG-15 (34), MiG-17 (19), IAR-93 (58) Regimentul 59 Elicoptere Tuzla IAR-316 (11), IAR-330 (17) Regimentul 61 Elicoptere Titu-Boteni IAR-316 (14), IAR-330 (14) Escadrila 141 Elicoptere Tecuci IAR-330 (7) Escadrila 183 Elicoptere Tecuci IAR-316 (11) Baza 90 Aviatie de Transport Bucuresti-Otopeni An-24, An-26, An-30, IAR-316 (10), IAR-330 (6), Mi-8 (5), Mi-17 (2), AS365N (4)

Scoala Militara de Aviatie “Aurel Vlaicu” Grupul Aviatie Scoala Vânâtoare si V. Bombard. Boboc L-29 (45), L-39 (32), IAR-99 (4) Grupul Aviatie Scoala Elicopteresi Transport Buzau IAR-316 (18), An-2 Grupul Aviatie Scoala Legatura Focsani IAR-823, IAK-52

The amount of aircraft in between brackets is drawn from official CFE records and obviously includes stored aircraft such as the MiG-15s and MiG-17s at Craiova.

Shortly after the dramatic events from December 1989 the name of the Air Force was changed into its current name Fortele Aeriene ale Romaniei. Escadrila 131 Elicoptere was officially designated as the 131st Helicopter Navigator Training Squadron, the exact Romanian designation of the unit is unknown. Some units were named by 1991 after famous Romanian AF aces and these included Regt.57 “Capt. Constantin Bazu Cantacuzino”, Regt.86 “Lt. Gheorghe Mociornita” and the training unit at Bacau which adopted the name “Lt. Av. Vasile Craiu” somewhere in the 1990’s.

Very little changed during the first half of the 90s beside the country licking its wounds imposed by the regime of Nicolae Ceausescu and his wife Elena. In 1990 Regt.49 at Ianca was the last unit within the Romanian Air Force to retire the MiG-15. The large number of aircraft which was still in storage gradually decreased during the course of the 1990’s when most of the aircraft were scrapped. Deliveries of the original batch of MiG-29s had been completed just before the revolution which saw the fall of the Ceaucescu regime and operational flying of the Fulcrum commenced in the spring of 1990. Production of the IAR-93 was terminated in 1992 following the outbreak of the civil war in Yugoslavia. New structure By 1 June 1995 the Forţelor Aeriene Romaniei dropped its communist era regimental system in favour of a system consisting of Air Bases, Groups and Squadrons. Two Air Force and Anti-Aircraft Defence Corps - Corpului Aviatie si Aparare Antiaeriana were formed under the Air Force and Anti-Aircraft Defence Staff – Statului Major al Aviatiei si Apararii Antiaeriana in Bucharest. Tactical fighter units were designated as Baza Aeriana de Aviatie Vânâtoare si Vânâtoare Bombardament – Fighter and Fighter Bomber Air Base in control of all assets including the Grupul Aviatie Vânâtoare – Fighter Air Group with one or two Escadrila – squadrons assigned to it. Fighter-Bomber units were designated as Baza Aeriana de Aviatie Vânâtoare Bombardament for the base and Grupul Aviatie de Vânâtoare-Bombardament for the group. Order of Battle January 1997

Statului Major al Aviatiei si Apararii Antiaeriana, HQ Bucuresti Grupul 90 Aviatie de Transport Bucuresti-Otopeni An-24, An-26, An-30, IAR-316 (10), IAR-330 (6), Mi-8 (3), Mi-17 (2), AS365N (4) Grupul 94 Elicoptere Alexeni IAR-316 (12), IAR-330 (6), Mi-8 (17)

Corpului 1 Aviatie si Aparare Antiaeriana, HQ Ploiesti Grupul 49 Aviatie de Vânâtoare-Bombardament Ianca IAR-99 (13), L-39 (20) Grupul 57 Aviatie Vânâtoare Mihail Kogalniceanu MiG-23 (12), MiG-29 (18) Grupul 86 Aviatie Vânâtoare Borcea-Fetesti MiG-21 (41) Grupul 95 Aviatie Vânâtoare Bacau MiG-21 (45), An-2 Grupul 59 Elicoptere Tuzla IAR-316 (11), IAR-330 (16), An-2 Grupul 60 Elicoptere Tecuci IAR-316 (11), IAR-330 (7) Grupul 61 Elicoptere Titu-Boteni IAR-316 (14), IAR-330 (14) Escadrila 38 Cercetare Borcea-Fetesti H-5 (12) Flotilla 70 Bucuresti-Otopeni ?? Flotilla 81 Bacau ??

Corpului 2 Aviatie si Aparare Antiaeriana, HQ Timisoara Grupul 67 Aviatie de Vânâtoare-Bombardament Craiova IAR-93 (75), MiG-17 (10), MiG-21 (14) Grupul 71 Aviatie Vânâtoare Campia Turzii MiG-21 (31) Grupul 91 Aviatie Vânâtoare Caracal-Deveselu MiG-21 (60) Grupul 93 Aviatie Vânâtoare Timisoara-Giarmata MiG-21 (18), MiG-23 (26) Grupul 58 Elicoptere Sibiu-Turnisor IAR-316 (13), IAR-330 (12) Grupul 73 Elicoptere Caransebes IAR-316 (15), IAR-330 (13) Escadrila 132 Elicoptere Cluj-Napoca / Someseni IAR-330 (4) Escadrila 31 Cercetare Timisoara-Giarmata MiG-21R (10) Flotilla 30 Craiova ??

Aviation Military Institute 'Aurel Vlaicu', HQ Buzau Grupul 19 Aviatie Scoala Legatura Focsani IAR-823, IAK-52 Grupul 20 Av.Scoala Vanat. si Vanat.-Bomb. Boboc L-29 (45), L-39 (12) Grupul Aviatie Scoala Elicopteresi Transport Buzau IAR-316 (18), An-2

All the units above report to their respective Baza Aeriana which has the same number as the Grupul. The numbers of aircraft shown above apparently also show aircraft in reserve such as the MiG-17s at Craiova which were retired from operational service in 1990 and the total of 219 MiG-21s which almost certainly also include a number of MiG-21PFs that were retired around 1993 and placed in storage at Bacau. Also the number of twelve H-5s is rather high as there were only five aircraft operational during the last years of it's career. At Someseni the four IAR-330s had replaced a similar number of Mi-8s in 1996.

Due to financial constraints and unable to buy new fighter aircraft the Romanian AF decided to invest in the upgrade of the most numerous fighter in its inventory being the MiG-21 Fishbed of which over 200 were still around by 1990. The tender was issued in 1992 and after a competition in which several companies were involved Elbit of was contracted as the systems integrator. The program originally dubbed as the ‘DD program’ being a tribute to the Romanian poet Doru Davidovici who was also a MiG-21 pilot and killed in a crash with a MiG-21UM, was later named ‘Lancer’. In Romania the Lancer is designated as LanceR with a capital 'R'. Among the available aircraft the MiG-21M and MiG-21MF were selected as the airframes to be upgraded. The contract initially included 75 Lancer-A air to ground conversions, 25 Lancer-C air-to-air versions and 10 Lancer-B trainers. The number of Lancer-Bs later increased to fourteen while the number of Lancer-A’s decreased to 71 conversions. The remaining MiG-21PFM, R and US versions were all retired by the time the Lancer program was completed in 2003. Following the first flight of the Lancer-A prototype on 22 august 1995 the first squadron of Grupul 95 at Bacau completed conversion on the MiG-21 Lancer on 8 May 1997. The unit had operated the MiG-21PF until 1993 and the MiG-21PFM and M until conversion to the Lancer commenced in 1997. The unit at Bacau has at that time a combined training and combat role. In its training role the unit received both graduates from the Air Force Academy at Boboc as well as experienced pilots for type conversion. In 1998 Grupul 86 was the second unit to receive the Lancer. This unit operated both the MiG-21PFM and MF and the last MiG-21PFM’s were disposed off by 1999. At Timisoara Escadrila 31 Cercetare retired its MiG-21Rs in 1998 after which the squadron was disbanded. The MiG-21MF squadron of Grupul 93 started conversion to the MiG-21 Lancer-A in 1999 and by 2000 the squadron had completed conversion. Grupul 93 is the only unit to exclusively operate the Lancer-A ground attack version but despite this, the squadron employs this version also in the air defence role.

Another type which did not make it into the new century was the IAR-93. After numerous incidents throughout its career and a non- fatal crash in April 1998 the type was grounded the same year and since then large numbers of IAR-93s remain in open storage at their former home base Craiova. Following the demise of the IAR-93, Grupul 67 received a small number of IAR-99s from its sister unit, Grupul 49 at Ianca. The latter had disposed off its IAR-93 a few years earlier and had received twenty L-39ZAs from Boboc as a temporary solution for the lack of aircraft with the unit. By 1998 the Albatrosses had returned to Boboc leaving Grupul 49 and Grupul 67 with fourteen IAR-99s divided between the two bases. In 1999 Grupul 57 at Mihail Kogalniceanu ceased operating the MiG-23 and about ten of the fourteen Flogger B/Cs that were still assigned to one of its squadrons were transferred to Timisoara the same year leaving a few non-airworthy aircraft behind at Mihail Kogalniceanu. The units two squadrons continued to operate the eighteen MiG-29s into the new century with the aircraft rapidly running out of flying hours and in need of a major overhaul.

The new millennium After the turn of the century fierce reorganisations struck the Romanian AF hard. One of the first units to be disestablished was the former Esc.38.Av.Cc at Borcea flying the Hong 5s. From 2000 the squadron was assigned to Grupul 86 at its home base Borcea as the Escadrila 862 Recunoastere. The unit was scheduled to fly all reconnaissance platforms in the Romanian Air Force being the H-5, MiG-21 and An-30. However before these plans could materialize they were abandoned following the grounding of the H-5 after two aircraft crashed within a year including 310, which had just emerged from a costly major overhaul at Bacau. The last sortie took place on 27 August 2001 when the sole remaining HJ-5 was flown from Mihail Kogalniceanu to Borcea following the Romanian International Air Show 2001 where it participated as a static exhibit.

During the air show at Timisoara a year earlier in 2000 it became clear that the end was near for the MiG-23. Three of the four remaining aircraft participated during the air show after which they were grounded for several months. The following year, a MiG- 23UB put up an appearance again during an air show at Ianca followed by RoIAS 2001 at Mihail Kogalniceanu where the same three aircraft as the previous year at Timisoara participated in the air show. The final MiG-23 sortie was flown in September 2001 after which their squadron was disbanded. More aircraft to disappear in 2000 were a number of L-39s and IAR-823 that were sold to the USA.

Another major reorganisation was the disbandment of all but one of the tactical helicopter bases. In 2001 Grupul 94 Elicoptere at Alexeni was disbanded and the base closed. A small number of Mi-8s was transferred to Otopeni but the majority was withdrawn from use and put into storage at Ianca. Also in 2001 Grupul 60 Elicoptere at Tecuci was disbanded with some of the helicopters being reassigned to Baza 95 Aeriana at Bacau by 1 May 2001. By the end of 2001 the same happened at Tuzla where Grupul 59 Elicoptere was disbanded after the helicopters had departed to Mihail Kogalniceanu and at Caransebes where Grupul 73 Elicoptere was disbanded with the helicopters taking up residence at Timisoara-Giarmata. Also in 2001 Escadrila 132 Elicoptere at Someseni was disbanded and its personnel transferred to Campia Turzii where they were assigned to Escadrila 713 Elicoptere which was formed in early 2003 after also Grupul 59 Elicoptere at Sibiu was disbanded and their helicopters and staff moved to Campia Turzii. Shortly after these changes the Romanian Air Force started to withdraw the IAR-316s from service while also the number of IAR-330s in service was drastically decreased with only five or six being assigned to a squadron today. The only helicopter base that initially survived was Grupul 61 Elicoptere at Titu-Boteni equipped with the eventually 24 strong IAR-330 SOCAT fleet of which the first were delivered in 2001.

Also the structure of the various units changed once again in 2001. By 15 December of that year all Grupuls were disbanded and from that date onwards all Escadrila's which were previously assigned to the Grupul were placed under direct command of the Baza Aeriana.

The first two years of the new century also saw the conversion of the two Escadrila of Baza 71 Av.Vt. to the Lancer being the last unit to do so. The unit had operated the MiG-21M/MF before it started its conversion. Fixed wing units to cease operations in 2001 were Baza 49 at Ianca which operated a very small number of IAR-99s after the unit had subsequently lost its MiG-15s, IAR-93s and L-39ZAs during the 1990s. Following the disbandment of Baza 49 Aviatie de Vânâtoare-Bombardament, the IAR-99s were transferred to Craiova after which Ianca became a storage base and since 2002 a temporary home for the L-29s and L-39s from Boboc. 2002 also saw the end of the last non-Lancer MiG-21s in service with the FAR. Baza 91 at Deveselu operated the last mix of non-modified MiG-21s in Romanian service. After operations ceased at Deveselu the base was closed with some two dozen MiG-21s of various types remaining grounded at the base. The disbanding of so many units with the subsequent closure of their home bases also resulted in the disbanding of Divizia 2 Aeriana at Timisoara around late 2002/early 2003. Also the training units received their share of reorganisations. In 2002 Grupul 19 Aviatie Scoala de Legatura at Focsani was disbanded. The IAR-823s of the unit were already withdrawn from service and the units IAK-52s were transferred to Brasov-Ghimbav where they share the base with the IAR-Eurocopter company. Following this move the unit was designated as Escadrila 21 Aviatie Scoala. At Buzau the based Grupul Aviatie Scoala Elicopteresi Transport (GASET) moved to nearby Boboc where its An-2 and IAR-316 element became part of the Scoala de Applicatii a Fortelor Aeriene. Note that by this time Boboc had lost its Baza 20 Aeriana designation and the same had happened at Bacau where Baza 95 Aeriana was redesignated into Centrul 95 Trecere pe Avioane Supersonice or 95 Supersonic Jet Training Center in 2001. At Craiova Grupul 67 Aviatie de Vânâtoare-Bombardament was redesignated into Centrul 67 Pregatire Operationala Avansata si Incercari in Zbor or 67th Advanced Operational Training and Flight Test Center, flying the IAR-99 however in 2002 also this unit was disbanded. The test flight of the unit remained active for some time as the Centrul de Incercari in Zbor (CIZ) operating a small number (probably four) of IAR-99. Four aircraft however participated during a military parade at Alba Lulia on 1 December 2003 indicating that at least some aircraft are serviceable again. It is possible that these aircraft belonged to the earlier mentioned CIZ. The planned move to Boboc finally took place after many delays in the spring of 2004. It is likely that also the CIZ moved to Boboc together with the active IAR-99s. A number of aircraft remained behind at Craiova where they are stored with the Centrul de Mentenara 322 Aviatia awaiting funding for maintenance and modifications.

Despite earlier plans to upgrade about twelve MiG-29s to NATO standard the Romanian Ministry of Defense decided on 21 January 2003 to withdraw the MiG-29 from service. Grupul 57, the Fulcrum unit at Mihail Kogalniceanu converted to the Lancer-A shortly afterwards and was based at Borcea. The unit however suffered from an exodus of pilots who resigned following the decision to abandon the plans for the Fulcrum upgrade and retire the aircraft. With the closure of Mihail Kogalniceanu in April 2004 Baza 57 disbanded with the Lancers being reassigned to other units. The jet training escadrila from the S.A.p.A. at Boboc is currently based at nearby Ianca. In the autumn of 2003 the Escadrila 21 Aviatie Scoala was transferred to Boboc where it was absorbed into the S.A.p.A. In addition in late 2003 all An-2 Patrulas disbanded and all An-2s have now taken up residence at Boboc.

In early 2004 it was announced that Baza 93 Aeriana at Timisoara was scheduled for disbandment in August 2004 under the 'Objective Force 2007' with the majority of the aircraft moving to Campia Turzii which until then almost exclusively operated the Lancer-C. Also the assigned Puma squadron was placed under command of Baza 71 Aeriana but remained based at Timisoara. Also the last major helicopter base, Baza 61 Elicoptere de Atac at Titu-Boteni became a victim of the restructuring plans of the Romanian air force. The base closed on 31 August 2004 with the IAR-330 SOCATs being relocated to Otopeni where the will be assigned to Baza 90.

On higher levels Divizia 1 Aeriana with its headquarters in Ploiesti also disbanded on 25 June 2004. All units are now reporting directly to the Statul Major al Fortelor Aeriene (SMFA), the air force headquarters. Also restructured in 2004 was the jet training. Centrul 95 Trecere pe Avioane Supersonice became an operational unit again and was renamed Baza 95 Aeriana on 1 July 2004. Order of Battle late 2004

Statul Major al Fortelor Aeriene, HQ București Baza 90 Aviatie de Transport “Gheorghe Banciulescu” București-Otopeni 901? Esc. Av. Transp. Strategic. C-130B, C-130H 902? Esc. Av. Tr. Operativ si Foto An-24RT, An-26, An-30 903 Esc. Elicoptere Transport IAR-330L 904 Esc. Elicoptere de Atac IAR-330 SOCAT 905 Esc. Elicoptere de Atac IAR-330 SOCAT Baza 71 Aeriana Câmpia Turzii 711 Escadrila Av.Vt. MiG-21 Lancer A/B 712 Escadrila Av.Vt. MiG-21 Lancer B/C 713 Escadrila Elic. IAR-330L 714? Escadrila Elic. IAR-330L (based at Timisoara-Giarmata) Baza 86 Aeriana “Lt. Gheorghe Mociornita” Borcea-Fetești 861 Escadrila Av.Vt. MiG-21 Lancer B/C 862 Escadrila Av.Vt. MiG-21 Lancer A/B 863 Escadrila Elic. IAR-330L, IAR-316B (based at Mihail Kogalniceanu) Baza 95 Aeriana Bacău 951 Escadrila Av.Vt. MiG-21 Lancer A/B/C 205? Escadrila MiG-21 Lancer A/B 953 Escadrila Elic. IAR-330L

Centrul de Incercari in Zbor (CIZ) Craiova ? Boboc IAR-99 Standard, IAR-99 Soim Academia Fortelor Aeriene 'Henri Coanda', HQ Brașov Scoala de Aplicatie a pentru Aviatie 'Aurel Vlaicu’ Boboc 201/4 Escadrila Iak-52, L-29, L-39ZA, IAR-99, IAR-99 Soim, IAR-316B, An-2 Technical School Various instructional a/c

The exact structure of the S.A.p.A. is unknown. It is known that the various types in service are assigned to four or five Escadrila or Flights but the exact assignment. A fifth squadron is based at Baza 95 Aeriana at Bacau conducting supersonic training on the MiG-21.

Partnership for Peace, NATO and the future In 1994 the Romanian Air Force was the first East European former WarPac country to sign the Partnership for Peace treaty expressing the country's anxiety to cooperate with and learn from other countries with the eventual goal to join NATO in a later stadium. To achieve all this it started participating in many exercises and sending aircraft abroad to participate in many airshows with great enthusiasm Long before joining NATO and even without being certain that it would be able to, it started to convert one of its core units, Grupul 86 at Borcea, into a NATO compatible unit by making improvements to the base's infrastructure, allowing a part of its pilots to fly a fair amount of training hours and work according to NATO procedures.

Among other types Romanian MiG-21 Lancers started participating in PfP exercises in 1998 in exercise ‘Cooperative Change’ at Sliac (Slovakia). More Lancers attended ‘Cooperative Key’ in Turkey in 1999 at St. Dizier (France) in 2002 and at Graf Ignatievo (Bulgaria) in 2001 and 2003. In 2000 the Romanian Air Force was the host country for ‘Cooperative Key’ when this exercise was organised at Mihail Kogalniceanu. In addition Lancers, IAR 330s and C-130Bs could be seen at various bilateral exercises and air shows in France, the Netherlands, Turkey, Austria and the UK but exercises also took place on Romanian soil with Dutch F-16s in 2001 and French Mirage F1s at Timisoara and RAF Harrier GR7s at Mihail Kogalniceanu in 2003. Earlier this year four Lancer Cs deployed from Campia Turzii to Colmar for an exercise with the based Mirage F1CTs. In addition two Lancer-Cs and three SOCAT Puma's participated in the NATO Air Meet in Konya in september 2004 and in the same month RAF Jaguars and Lancers participated in exercise 'Lone Cheetah' at Mihail Kogalniceanu.

On 1 April 2004 Romania became part of NATO together with six other former War Pac countries. Currently the Romanian Air Force is reorganising drastically under the 'Objective Force 2007' programme to reach sensible levels of aircraft and personnel. In the foreseeable future the Romanian Air Force has to rely on its fleet of heavily modernised MiG-21s as well as the IAR-330 SOCAT. For its transport needs the Air Force hopes to be able to acquire additional C-130s while the MiG-21 needs to be replaced before the end of the decade. The Romanian air force hopes to be able to acquire 48 new fighters between 2008 and 2012. In addition funds for four more C-130s are sought as well as twelve medium size transport aircraft and twelve helicopters. In addition the IAR-99 Soim is expected to re-enter service soon providing the Air Force with a modern which is also capable to carry out light attack tasks. Romanian Aviation Industry After WWII Romania was prohibited to produce any combat aircraft. This lasted until the late 1960s when the Romanian government decided to develop the IAR-93 light . It has to be noted that by the end of the second World War the Industria Aeronautica Romana (IAR) company in Brasov which was founded in 1925 was demilitarised by the Soviets and switched to the production of tractors. The designation IAR was however retained as a trademark for aircraft manufactured or licence built in Romania. To clear some of the confusion often caused by the IAR designation a short explanation of the structure of the Romanian aviation industry seems useful.

The first company to start manufacturing light aircraft was the company ICA (Intreprinderea de Constructii Aeronautice) in Brasov in 1949. Other companies were active mainly in overhauling and scheduled maintenance on Soviet built aircraft. By the early 1960 also IRMA at Baneasa became an important name in the Romanian aviation industry. In line with other communistic countries the development of new aircraft was commonly not the responsibility for construction companies such as those mentioned above, but by government owned aviation research institutes. In Romania this was IMFCA, later INCREST. The actual manufacturing was the responsibility for companies assigned to a central government controlled organisation. By 1978 this was CNIAR or the National Centre of the Romanian Aeronautical Industry. Companies active in the manufacturing of aircraft and helicopters remained government property until the collapse of the Ceausescu regime in 1989 and the disbanding of CNIAR when they were privatised with government interest dropping to 35%

Following WWII four companies were responsible for the manufacturing of the majority of aircraft and helicopters in Romania all using the IAR trademark: Aerostar SA Bacau This company was founded on 1 January 1950 as the Uniza de Reparatii (URA) or Central Aviation Workshop responsible for maintenance of Romanian air force aircraft and the manufacturing of spares and tooling for the Romanian aviation industry. By 1970 the name had changed into Intreprinderea de Reparat Avioane (IRAv) and by 1978 Intreprinderea Avioane (IAv) Bacau. By 1991 the company is known as Aerostar. Over the past fifty year the company was active in reparations and overhaul of types such as the Yak-17, Yak-23, MiG-15, 17, 19 and 21, IL-28 and H-5 and the L-29 and L-39. Between 1972 and 1974 the company was tasked with the manufacture of the IAR-93 prototype. Another important activity for the company was the licence production of the Yak-52 trainer and the conversion of 111 MiG-21s to the improved Lancer variant. In addition the company over the years built many components for other aircraft manufactured in Romania. Avioane SA Craiova Avioane Craiova was founded on 1 February 1972 as IAv Craiova especially for the manufacture of the IAR-93. On 29 March 1991 the company was renamed into Avioane SA Craiova. The most important aircraft built by the company was the IAR-93 of which serial production commenced in 1975. From 1979 the company also builds the IAR-99 trainer/light attack aircraft which was developed by INCREST. In addition to these types Avioane Craiova has also been building components for various other aircraft. Another project in 1992 was the IAR-109 which was an improved version of the IAR-99 destined for the export market. The project was however not succesful and has been terminated. Since the production of the IAR-93 ceased in the early 1990s the IAR-99 is the only ongoing project and the future for the company as an aircraft company unfortunately seems not to bright once the production of IAR-99 Soim has been completed. IAR SA Brasov-Ghimbav After a period of building other things than aircraft the old IAR company again started building light aircraft as ICA (Intreprinderea de Constructii Aeronautice) in 1949. Over the years the company constructed aircraft such as the IAR-811, 813, 814, 817, 822, 823, 824, 825, 826, 827, 828, 831, IAR-28MA. Of some of these only very few aircraft were built and sometimes only a prototype was constructed. From 1971 the company started licence production of the Aerospatiale SA316B Alouette 3 as the IAR-316 followed by the SA330 Puma as the IAR-330. In the early 1980's also an armed derivant of the Alouette 3 was built called the IAR- 317 Airfox. In 1988 the project was cancelled by the Romanian government. Some time ago the company reverted back to its old name IAR SA Brasov. Romaero SA Baneasa A company which has a complicated history with a lot of mergers in the past. From 1964 the company was named IRMA and subsequently from 1980 IAv Bucuresti and from 1990 Romaero SA Baneasa. Between 1959 and 1968 IRMA built about 140 aircraft for different missions such as the IAR-818 and IAR-821. In addition also prototypes for the IAR-822 and 822B as well as the IAR-827 and 827B were built by IRMA but serial production of these took place in Brasov. The company also licence built the BAC 1-11 airliner as the ROMBAC 1-11 and from 1968 the BN-2 Islander of which no fewer than 500 were built until the mid 1990s. After being completed at Baneasa the aircraft were transferred to the Brittan Norman facility on the Ilse of Wight were they were completed by installing furniture and systems. Over the past decade the company has concentrated on overhaul and maintenance of air force and TAROM aircraft. The production of the BAC 1-11 was however less succesful and eventually turned into a fiasco with only nine aircraft completed in 1991 when production ceased of about 80 envisaged.

Types In the type review below only the aircraft and helicopter types are listed that were active at the time of the collapse of the Ceausescu regime in 1989. Note that the aircraft listed below are all the result of intensive research and it has to be kept in mind that almost none of the lists can be considered as being complete. Additions, comments and corrections are most welcome and can be sent to the editor on [email protected]. Units in between brackets indicate that the unit or unit designation no longer exists or is no longer operating the type. Note that in some cases the aircraft are listed in construction number order rather then the serial number! Aero L-29 Delfin In 1966 the Școala Militara de Aviatie ‘Aurel Vlaicu’ took delivery of the first four Aero L-29 Delfins and were followed by other batches totalling 35 aircraft delivered by 1970. The aircraft all originated from the LET Kunovice plant in Czechoslovakia. An additional batch of seventeen improved Delfins were delivered in 1973/1974 making a total of 52 L-29s in service. Some of the aircraft delivered in 1973/74 were still forming the backbone of the Romanian jet training fleet by late 2004. Late 2003 fourteen Delfins remained in service but with the IAR-99 entering service in early 2004 a number of these had been retired by September 2004.

14 993336 d/d jun69, std Boboc sep04 15 993150 d/d jan69, pres Brasov town sep03 16 993149* d/d jan69, std Boboc sep04 17 993148 d/d jan69, std Boboc oct03 18 993147? d/d jan69, std Boboc oct02 19 993146* d/d jan69, std Boboc oct03 20 893145? d/d nov68 21 893144? d/d nov68, std Boboc sep04 22 893143 d/d nov68, std Boboc sep03 23 893142 d/d nov68, std Boboc sep04 24 893141 d/d nov68, std Boboc sep03 25 893050 d/d oct/nov68, std Boboc sep03 26 893049? d/d oct/nov68, Boboc jul92 27 893048? d/d oct/nov68 28 893047? d/d oct/nov68, std Boboc sep04 29 893046? d/d oct/nov68, std Boboc sep04 30 893045 d/d oct/nov68, std Boboc sep04 31 893044 d/d oct/nov68, std Boboc sep04 32 892948 d/d sep68, std Boboc sep03 33 892949 d/d sep68, std Boboc sep03 34 892950 d/d sep68, std Boboc sep03 35 893036 d/d sep68, pres Bacau oct03 36 893037? d/d sep68, w/o 15may70 37 893038? d/d sep68, pres Boboc sep04 38 893039? d/d sep68 39 893040? d/d sep68,std Boboc sep03 40 d/d sep67, std Boboc photo 41 d/d sep67, std Boboc oct02 42 d/d sep67, (Grupul 20 S.V.V.B.) feb95 43 792643 d/d sep67, std Boboc sep04 44 692144 d/d oct66, std Boboc sep04 45 692145? d/d oct66, w/o 30aug72 46 692146? d/d oct66 47 692147? d/d oct66, std Boboc may99 48 395097? d/d oct73, std Ianca sep04 49 395098? d/d oct73, std Boboc sep04 50 395099? d/d oct73, S.A.p.A. sep04 51 3950100? d/d oct73, std Ianca sep04 52 495188? d/d jan74, S.A.p.A. sep04 53 495189 d/d jan74, std Boboc sep04 54 495190 d/d jan74, std Ianca sep04 55 495191? d/d jan74, std Ianca sep04 56 495192? d/d jan74, S.A.p.A. sep04 57 495193? d/d jan74, S.A.p.A. oct03 58 495194? d/d jan74, S.A.p.A. or std Ianca? sep04 59 495195? d/d jan74, S.A.p.A. sep04 60 495196? d/d jan74 61 495197? d/d jan74, S.A.p.A. sep04 62 495198? d/d jan74, std Ianca sep04 63 495199? d/d jan74, S.A.p.A. sep04 64 4951100 d/d jan74, std Ianca sep04

It is known that the c/ns 792641, 792642, 792644 and 792645 were also destined for the Romanian AF. Probably the serials 40, 41 and 42 were allocated to three of them. We think (!!) that the other one might have crashed before delivery and that serial 14 (993336) was delivered afterwards as a replacement aircraft.

The c/n of 16 and 19 were positively read off as 193146 and 193149 in oct03! At least two more aircraft were lost in fatal crashes on 15aug74 and 03sep75. Aero L-39ZA Albatros Thirty-two L-39ZA were delivered between 1981 and 1985, serving alongside the L-29s with the Școala Militara de Aviatie ‘Aurel Vlaicu’ at Boboc. Twenty L-39s were temporary based at Ianca with Grupul 49 during the second half of the 1990s following the withdrawal of the IAR-93 from the unit. A large number of Albatross were sold on the US civil market over the past years. Currently only four L-39s remain active with the Scoala de Aplicatie a pentru Aviatie (S.A.p.A.) at Boboc with some additional aircraft in storage at both Boboc and Bacau awaiting a decision on their future. The active L-39s are currently based at Ianca together with the remaining L-29s.

115 132015 d/d 1981, sold as N391ZA, regd 03apr01 118 132018 d/d 1981, w/o 11jun97 (Grupul 20 S.V.V.B.) 121 132021 d/d 1981, sold as N392ZA, regd 29oct01 124 132024 d/d 1981, std Boboc sep04 127 132027 d/d 1981, sold as N401ZA, regd 15jul03 130 132030 d/d 1981, sold as N393ZA, regd 09mar01 133 132033 d/d 1981, sold as N394ZA, regd 23jan01 136 132036 d/d 1981, sold as N404ZA, regd 04jun03 103 232403 d/d 1982, sold as N395ZA, regd 17jan01 106 232406 d/d 1982, sold as N396ZA, regd 17jan01 109 232409 d/d 1982, std Boboc sep04 112 232412 d/d 1982, sold as N397ZA, regd 17jan01 129 332629 d/d 1983, sold as N402ZA, regd 04jun03 132 332632 d/d 1983, std Boboc sep04 135 332635 d/d 1983, sold as N403ZA, regd 04jun03 138 332638 d/d 1983, sold as N398ZA, regd 19jan01 141 332641 d/d 1983, sold as N399ZA, regd 19jan01 144 332644 d/d 1983, sold as N390ZA, regd 19jan01 147 332647 d/d 1983, sold as N405ZA, regd 04jun03 150 332650 d/d 1983, sold as N339ZA, regd 19jul02 128 432828 d/d 1984, std Boboc, gone by sep04! jun04 131 432830 d/d 1984, std Boboc sep04 137 432832 d/d 1984, pres Aerostar Bacau oct03 134 432834 d/d 1984, std Aerostar Bacau sep03 139 432836 d/d 1984, pres Brasov oct03 143 432838 d/d 1984, std Aerostar Bacau sep03 140 432840 d/d 1984, S.A.p.A. sep04 142 432842 d/d 1984, std Boboc, gone by sep04! jun04 145 533218 d/d 1985, S.A.p.A. sep04 146 533220 d/d 1985, S.A.p.A sep04 148 533222 d/d 1985, std Boboc, gone by sep04! jun04 149 533224 d/d 1985, S.A.p.A. sep04

L-39ZA 139 staat preserved op de Henry Coanda academie in Brasov. Aerostar IAK-52 (Yak-52) The IAK-52, the Romanian designation for the Yak-52, is licence built by Aerostar at Bacau. The first flight of an Aerostar built aircraft c/n 780102 made its first flight on 20 May 1978 and more than 1800 were built since. In the FAR the aircraft entered service from 1986 with the Scoala Militara de Ofiteri de Aviatie at Focsani augmenting and eventually replacing the IAR-823 as the basic trainer of the Romanian Air Force. The exact number is still unclear but it is estimated that approximately two dozen were delivered between 1986 and 1996 of a total of about 1800 built by Aerostar most of which found their way to the Soviet Union as well as some other countries. The unit moved from Focsani to Brasov with approx. sixteen aircraft around 2000 where they took up residence at the airfield of the IAR-Eurocopter factory. However the unit moved again, this time to Boboc in October 2003.

04 photo 12 866306 m/d 1986, S.A.p.A. sep04 14 866308 m/d 1986, S.A.p.A. sep04 16 866310 m/d 1986, S.A.p.A. sep04 18 9111213 m/d 1991, S.A.p.A. sep04 19 (Grupul 19 Av.S.L) aug00 24 ..804?304 S.A.p.A. sep04 30 S.A.p.A. jun04 31 photo 32 866411 m/d 1986, S.A.p.A. sep04 33 (Grupul 19 Av.S.L) aug00 34 866413 m/d 1986, S.A.p.A. sep04 35 866414 m/d 1986, S.A.p.A. sep04 36 (Grupul 19 Av.S.L) aug00 38 9111314? m/d 1991, S.A.p.A. sep04 39 S.A.p.A. sep04 40 9111405 m/d 1991, S.A.p.A. sep04 41 (Grupul 19 Av.S.L) jun97 42 9111407 m/d 1991, S.A.p.A. sep04 43 (Esc 21 Av.S.) oct03 152 856207? m/d 1985?, S.A.p.A sep04 153 856208 m/d 1985, S.A.p.A. sep04 154 (Grupul 19 Av.S.L) aug00 155 (Grupul 19 Av.S.L) jun97 156 (Grupul 19 Av.S.L) aug00 158 (Grupul 19 Av.S.L) jun97

Iak-52W 203 was demonstrated at Le Bourget in June 1999. It has to be noted that despite the presence of a Romanian roundel this aircraft was not a FAR aircraft but an Aerostar demonstrator. Antonov An-2 Still going strong in the FAR is the An-2 biplane. About two dozen ‘Colts' are believed to have been operated by the Romanian Air Force, some of which probably temporary. As can be seen below there are still many questionmarks about the An-2. Late 2003 about a dozen remain in service. The aircraft currently only serves with the Scoala de Aplicatie a pentru Aviatie (S.A.p.A.) at Boboc where they moved in from Buzau in 2002 for pilot training for those who are destined to fly transport aircraft. Additional An-2s moved in in late 2003 following the disbanding of An-2 equipped Patrulas (flights) at Titu-Boteni, Campia Turzii and Bacau where they were used for liaison and para training.

An-2R 28 1G124-28(1) S.A.p.A. oct03 29 1G124-29(2) ex YR-API, rtnd to civil user 30 1G124-30(3) std Boboc (wingless) sep04 31 1G124-31(4) S.A.p.A sep04 32 1G124-32(5) std Boboc (wingless) sep04 33 1G124-33(6) ex YR-APL, rtnd to civil user 34 1G124-34(7) std Bacau sep04 35 1G124-35(8) S.A.p.A. sep04 36 1G124-43(10) ex YR-APZ, S.A.p.A. sep04 37 1G124-37(11) ex YR-APR, see note 11 and 12 1G124-42(12) ex YR-APW, Baza 95 Aer. ? stored sep04 38 1G1__-38(13) std Boboc (wingless) sep04 39 1G124-36(14) ex YR-APO, never noted, to be confirmed 40 1G124-40(15) ex YR-APU, never noted, to be confirmed 42 1G116-42(16) ex YR-APA, never noted, to be confirmed 43 1G116-43(17) ex YR-APB, never noted, to be confirmed 44 1G124-38(18) ex YR-APS, never noted, to be confirmed 45 1G116-45(19) ex YR-APD, never noted, to be confirmed 47 1G124-47(20) ex YR-PAB, to YR-YAV (Aerostar hack)sep03

An-2T? 53 1G194-53? d/d 05jan82, S.A.p.A. sep04 54 1G194-54? d/d 05jan82, S.A.p.A. sep04 55 1G194-55? d/d 05jan82, (Baza 71 Aeriana) oct02 56 1G194-56? d/d 06mar82, S.A.p.A. sep04 57 1G194-57 d/d 06mar82, S.A.p.A. sep04 58 1G194-58 d/d 05jan82, std Boboc (wingless) sep04 59 1G194-59? d/d 06mar82, S.A.p.A. sep04 60 1G194-60? d/d 05jan82, (B.61 Elic.), prob.std jun04

Notes: (1) 1G124-28 rgd YR-APH 01apr71,canx 18nov76, trfd to Romanian Air Force, plate YR-APH checked in cockpit sep03 (2) 1G124-29 rgd YR-API 01apr71,canx 18nov76, trfd to Romanian Air Force, rr YR-API 24feb86 (3) 1G124-30 rgd YR-APJ 01apr71,canx 18nov76, trfd to Romanian Air Force (4) 1G124-31 rgd YR-APK 01apr71,canx 18nov76, rtnd 09apr86, canx ??, trfd to Romanian Air Force, plate YR-APK checked in cockpit may98 and sep03 (5) 1G124-32 rgd YR-ANW 09apr71?05may71,canx 16dec76 (6) 1G124-33 rgd YR-APL 23apr71,canx ??, trfd to Romanian Air Force, rtnd to YR-APL 01nov86 or 18aug86? (7) 1G124-34 rgd YR-APM 23apr71, canx 08feb78, trfd to Romanian Air Force, plate YR-APM checked in cockpit may98 (8) 1G124-35 rgd YR-APN 23apr71, canx 08feb78 (10) 1G124-43 regd as YR-APZ 10may71, canx 19feb82, tfrd to Romanian Air Force (as 43?) rgd 36, plate YR-APK checked in cockpit sep03