The Romanian Air Force ( RoAF, ) is the air force branch of the Romanian Armed Forces. It has an air force headquarters, an operational command, five air bases, a logistics base, an air defense brigade, an air defense regiment and an ISR brigade. Reserve forces include one air base and two airfields. In 2022, the Romanian Air Force employed 11,700 personnel. The current chief of the Romanian Air Force Staff is Lieutenant general Leonard-Gabriel Baraboi, who succeeded Lieutenant general Viorel Pană on 29 November 2023.
The Romanian Air Force was first formed as the Military Aeronautics Service on 1 April 1913, transformed into the Romanian Air Corps in 1915. The Army-subordinated Air Corps was reorganized as the independent Royal Romanian Air Force on 1 January 1924, then converted to the present-day Air Force in 1949. The Air Force went through a modernization plan in the 1990s and early 2000s, dropping the communist-era organization system in 1995 and adopting a NATO-compatible one instead as the country was preparing to join the Alliance.
Current state
The Romanian Air Force operates F-16 Fighting Falcon multirole combat aircraft. Three fighter squadrons maintaining the Permanent Combat Service - Air Policing and one training squadron are equipped with the F-16s. The Romanian Air Force also operates C-130 Hercules, C-27J Spartan and An-26 transport airplanes and IAR 330 helicopters. IAR 330 Puma SOCAT helicopters, modernized by the Romanian Aviation Industry (IAR) in cooperation with Elbit Systems (from Israel), are used in an attack role. The Romanian Air Force also includes locally built IAR 99 Șoim jets, mostly used for training missions.
In July 2023, the Supreme Council of National Defence (CSAT) approved the plan to host an F-16 training center in Romania. The center was planned as a regional training hub for Romanian and other allied fighter pilots, including Ukrainians. To support this decision, an international coalition of 11 nations, as well as Ukraine was formed during the 2023 Vilnius summit. In November 2023, the European F-16 Training Center became operational at the Romanian 86th Air Base. The Netherlands provided the F-16s, and Lockheed Martin with its subcontractor Draken International provided the instructors and technicians. The first Ukrainian pilots started training at the center in September 2024 after a first group of Romanian pilots. The 18 Dutch F-16s were formally transferred to Romania on 3 November for a symbolic price of €1.
To replace the aging MiG-21 LanceRs, the Romanian Air Force procured F-16 fighters from partner states. In 2013, Romania signed a contract with Portugal for 12 F-16AM/BM MLU fighters. Under the Peace Carpathian program, the first six fighters entered service with the Romanian Air Force in September 2016, followed by another three in November and the last three in 2017. Romania ordered another five F-16s from Portugal in 2019, and the fighters were delivered by March 2021.
Another contract for an additional 32 F-16s was signed with Norway in 2022, and the first Norwegian F-16s arrived in 2023. Under the contract, the F-16s were modified to the Romanian M6.5.2 configuration. Kongsberg Aviation Maintenance Services provided support, maintenance, and training for Romanian technical personnel. As of 2025, maintenance for the Romanian F-16 fleet is carried out in the country at Aerostar with a capacity of servicing six jets at the same time.
On 11 April 2023, CSAT approved the acquisition plan for the fifth-generation F-35 joint strike fighter. The contract was signed on 21 November 2024. The F-35 program is divided in two stages, first of 32 aircraft and the second of 16 aircraft for a total of 48 F-35s which will replace the F-16s between 2034 and 2040. The first batch of eight F-35s is scheduled to arrive in the country in 2032.
History
Beginnings In 1818, during the reign of John Caradja, the prince of Wallachia, an unmanned hot air balloon was flown off Dealul Spirii in Bucharest. On , Marius Willemot, the owner of the hydrogen balloon named flew together with Majors Iacob Lahovary, Constantin Poenaru and Dumitrescu over Bucharest. The last flight took place on , Willemot flying together with Colonel Nicolae Haralambie, Ion Ghica and a third person. The balloon had made its first flight in Paris on 27 March of the same year.
The first aeronautical unit of Romania was established in 1893 under the 1st Telegraph Company in the 1st Engineer Regiment. The role of this unit was to operate the observation balloons for aerial surveillance in support of the artillery units defending the fortifications of Bucharest. In 1913, the unit was reorganized into the "Aerostation Company" which became part of the Military Aeronautics Service.
On 20 November 1909, the Chitila Piloting School was formed as a joint venture by Mihail Cerchez. The school, conducted by French flight instructors, had five hangars, bleachers for spectators and workshops where the Farman airplanes were built under license. It was opened on 9 July 1910, led by the chief flight instructor and director of the school René Guillemin who was soon replaced by Michel-Paul Molla after an accident. The first pilot licensed at Chitila was Ștefan Protopopescu on 9 July 1911. The school closed in late 1912 due to financial difficulties, having trained six officers, but only licensed two.
In November 1909, the Romanian Minister of War commissioned Aurel Vlaicu to build the A Vlaicu I airplane at the Bucharest Army Arsenal which first flew on 17 June 1910. On 28 September during the fall military exercise, Vlaicu flew his airplane from Slatina to Piatra Olt carrying a message, Romania thus becoming one of the first countries to use airplanes for military purposes. Along with other Romanian pilots, Vlaicu flew reconnaissance missions during the Second Balkan War. Vlaicu III, the first metal aircraft in the world, was completed after his death, in May 1914.Jozef Wilczynski, Technology in Comecon: Acceleration of Technological Progress Through Economic Planning and the Market, p. 243
On 1 April 1913, the first law on the organization of military aeronautics was issued, thus forming the Military Aeronautics Service (), later reorganized as the Romanian Air Corps () in 1915. Organized as such, the Romanian aviation participated in the Second Balkan War, becoming the first air arm to perform operations over an enemy capital city, with leaflet drop missions flown over Sofia.
World War I
On the eve of Romania's entrance into the war in August 1916, only 24 out of the 44 aircraft that had been imported and assembled at Rezerva generală a aviației (RGA) were available. Another 20 aircraft were provided by the flight schools. These aircraft included Bristol T.B.8s, Bristol Coanda Monoplanes, Blériot XIs, and other Farman aircraft. One of the Vlaicu monoplanes, A Vlaicu II, crashed in 1913, while the A Vlaicu I was retired in 1914, leaving A Vlaicu III as the sole Romanian-made aircraft in the Romanian Air Corps. Also in 1916, the Anti-aircraft Defence Corps was formed and equipped with searchlights and locally converted anti-aircraft guns, which included the "Negrei" and "Burileanu" systems.
During World War I, Romania acquired 322 aircraft from France and ex-RNAS aircraft from Great Britain including Nieuport 11 and 17 single seat fighters, Morane-Saulnier LA and Nieuport 12 two seat fighters, Caudron G.3, Henry Farman HF.20, Farman MF.11 and Farman F.40 artillery observation and reconnaissance aircraft, as well as Caudron G.4, Breguet-Michelin BLM and Voisin LA bombers. On 16 September 1916, a Romanian Farman F.40 downed an Imperial German Air Service aircraft near Slobozia; this was the first Romanian aerial victory. By the end of World War I, Romanian pilots had flown about 11,000 hours and 750 missions; however, this was unable to prevent the December 1916 Romanian offensive at the Battle of the Argeș from being defeated, which resulted in the occupation of southern Romania, and the armistice on 6 December 1917 following the Russian revolution. Still, the air corps played a significant role in the 1917 summer campaign by maintaining air supremacy over the battlefield and providing reconnaissance for the ground troops, helping secure the victories in the three battles. The Romanian Air Corps ended the war with 106–146 enemy aircraft shot down in total. Other victories were achieved in the Hungarian–Romanian War of 1919. According to the Romanian aerial victory standards, one pilot achieved the status of flying ace, Second lieutenant Dumitru Bădulescu who scored eight victories, of which three unconfirmed.
Interwar
The beginning of the interwar period saw a new organization for the Air Corps with units deployed throughout the country. The process of acquiring new aircraft to replace the old World War I ones also continued. On 1 January 1924, the Army-subordinated Air Corps was reorganized as a separate military branch. It was named (ARR, ) and placed under the command of the General Inspectorate of Aeronautics. The number of aviators and aircraft built either under license or locally designed also continued to grow. This led to the formation of the aviation flotillas (air wings) in 1929 from the previous aviation groups. By 1936, the Air Force's aircraft were largely obsolete and the mounting political and military tensions in Europe led to calls for a restructuring plan of the ARR. The drafted plan proposed equipping 36 new squadrons with modern combat aircraft within two years. Due to continued delays, delegations for acquiring new aircraft were only sent in April 1939. The aircraft inventory quickly grew in size with deliveries from Germany and the United Kingdom. Also in 1939, a large number of Polish aircraft arrived following the invasion of Poland and were brought into Romanian service.
World War II
When Romania, allied with Nazi Germany, went to war against the Soviet Union on 22 June 1941, the ARR had 621 airplanes, including its locally made IAR 80 fighters. The air force accomplished hundreds of missions, contributing to Romania's recapture of Northern Bucovina and Bessarabia, which had been occupied by the Soviet Union a year earlier. By the end of the Siege of Odessa, the Romanian military fighters claimed about 600 air victories. The Royal Romanian Air Force fought on the Eastern Front, and in the defense of the country against Allied air raids, until 23 August 1944, bringing an important contribution to the great battles at Stalingrad, in Crimea, and the Ukrainian fronts. Between 1941 and 1944, Romanian aircraft won 2,000 air victories. The most famous flying aces were Captain Prince Constantin Cantacuzino, who gained 69 certified victories by the Romanian air victory standards, Captain Alexandru Șerbănescu, with 55 victories, and Captain Horia Agarici with 13 victories.
In the aftermath of King Michael's Coup of 23 August 1944, Romania turned against Germany and joined the Allies. Between 24 and 31 August the ARR fought against the Luftwaffe, destroying 59 German aircraft. Continuing the campaign against the Axis, the Royal Romanian Air Force, organized in the 1st Air Corps, aided the Soviet and Romanian armies until 18 May 1945. The last victory scored by a Romanian pilot, although not officially registered, happened on 4 May when a Soviet Yak-3 was shot down in a clash with two Romanian Bf 109s. In the 1944-1945 campaign, the Air Force destroyed 126 enemy aircraft in battle while losing 176 aircraft itself, of which 30 in combat and the rest mainly in accidents.
Cold War