Former title: Romania expands air bases near the border of Ukraine

　　 According to a report on the website of the US Defense News Weekly on June 14, Romania has begun to expand its air base near Ukraine.

The Romanian government has started a multi billion euro project to expand and modernize an air base near Ukraine, where some new weapons planned to be purchased will also be stored.

The Romanian Defense Minister Angel Terwal announced this progress at a ceremony at the Mikhail Kogurnichanu Air Base on the 11th. The base is less than 200 km from the Ukrainian border.

This expansion project was approved before the Russian Ukrainian conflict. Since 1999, American weapons and troops have been deployed at the base.

"Romania decided to improve the strength of this base because Russia invaded Georgia in 2008 and later annexed Crimea in 2014. This plan was approved in 2018." Nikolai Krechu, commander of the base and colonel of the Romanian air force, told Defense News during the NATO led "Ramstein Legacy" exercise.

The expansion project will include the construction of a new runway, a guard tower and the addition of additional hangars to protect the existing and upcoming military assets of the Eastern European country. Kretsch estimates that the costs associated with the expansion will reach 2.5 billion euros.

Romania has a number of ongoing procurement plans, mainly focusing on short-range and ultra short-range air defense systems, and plans to spend up to $2.1 billion for this purpose.

The actual situation in recent years shows that the location of the Mikhail Kogurnichanu Air Base is of great strategic significance to Romania and its NATO allies. For example, Kretsch said that the base had played a role during the Iraq War and was used by the allies to "deliver troops from a distance beyond the territory". (Compiled by/Zhu Li)