Brussels — NATO is relocating several of its surveillance planes currently stationed in Germany to Romania, where they will be in closer proximity to Russia's war against Ukraine.
The Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS) surveillance planes are scheduled to arrive in Bucharest on Tuesday "to support the alliance's reinforced presence in the region and monitor Russian military activity," NATO said in a Friday statement.
The AWACS planes, which are usually based near Aachen in western Germany, will be stationed at the Romanian Air Force base at Otopeni near Bucharest, some 200 kilometres from the EU and NATO country's eastern border with Ukraine, and remain there for several weeks.
"As Russia's illegal war in Ukraine continues to threaten peace and security in Europe, there must be no doubt about NATO's resolve to protect and defend every inch of allied territory," said NATO spokesperson Oana Lungescu.
"Our AWACS can detect aircraft hundreds of kilometres away, making them a key capability for NATO's deterrence and defence posture. I thank Romania for hosting the aircraft, which makes an important contribution to our early warning," she added.
Some 180 military personnel will also be deployed to the base at Otopeni.
NATO didn't specify how many of its 14 AWACS currently stationed in Germany would be sent to Romania, but according to military sources three planes will be deployed to the Eastern European country, dpa has learned.
The AWACS, with their mushroom-shaped radar set-up, are able to locate and identify other aircraft at a distance of more than 400 kilometres.
The planes can pass on the information to all others in the airspace that are equipped accordingly, meaning they can theoretically be used as flying command posts.
In the past, they have been deployed during operations targeting the Islamic State terrorist group or in Afghanistan.
Meanwhile, the French Defence Ministry said on Friday its promised delivery of armoured reconnaissance vehicles to Ukraine would occur within the next two months.
According to a ministry statement, Defence Minister Sébastien Lecornu and his Ukrainian counterpart Oleksii Reznikov also agreed on rapid training for Ukrainian soldiers on how to operate the AMX-10 RC fighting vehicles. France has not said how many are to go to Ukraine.
Germany and the US have also announced plans to send Ukraine Marder and Bradley infantry fighting vehicles.
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