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23
CER SENIN
Nr. 1 (148)
2017
w w w . r o a f . r o
INTEGRITY – COMMITMENT – TENACITY
Romanian Naval Aviation celebrates its
tenth anniversary in 2017. The ‘ Black Sea
Knights’ helicopter squadron is housed at
Tuzla Ai rpor t , located southwest of
Constanta, and is operating three IAR.330s
locally built and designated ‘Puma Naval’
(Navy) helicopters. The history of Romanian
Naval Aviation dates back to June 1920 when
the first aircraft arrived. By the end of World
War 2 twenty-four Heinkel He-114s were in
service. These seaplanes were withdrawn
f rom ser vice over the years wi th no
replacement. Naval Aviation operations were
disbanded in May 1960 when the last eight
He-114s were scrapped.
In the late 1980’s, when the first Tetal II
class frigate and destroyer ‘Mărășești ’
entered service with the FNR, a number of
IAR.316B Alouette helicopters were outfitted
with inflatable flotation gear and a winch
on the port side, as well as foldable main
rotor blades. The two Tetal II class ships have
a deck capable of handling one IAR.316B
while ‘Marasesti’ has a deck and hangar
capable of accommodating two IAR.316Bs.
The helicopters were sourced from Air Force
(Fortele Armee Română/ FAR) inventory,
based at Tuzla at the time. With the
disbandment of the 59th Helicopter Group
from Tuzla in 2001 and the retirement of
most of the IAR.316s, the Romanian Navy
found itself with no helicopter support from
the FAR. The few operational IAR.330s from
the disbanded squadron at Tuzla transferred
to the 863rd Helicopter Squadron at Mihail
Kogalniceanu.
“With the acquisition of two Type 22
frigates; F-221 Regele Ferdinand (ex HMS
Coventry) and F-222 Regina Maria (ex HMS
London) in 2004 it became clear there was
a need for a dedicated naval helicopter force
and procedures had to be adopted resulting
in a steep learning curve for our crews.
Without helicopters we are not able to
perform all our tasks” according to Captain
Ioan. “They are a vital part in our ASW/ASuW
tasks”.
“ In March 2016 a moderni zat ion
programme has been started to upgrade
the Type 22 frigates to be able to be able to
carry out ASW and Anti-Surface Ship Warfare
(ASuW) missions and to improve the
Command & Control systems onboard. The
upgrade will have a timespan of three years
planned to be finalized in 2019” adds Captain
Ioan.
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6
ATE – DEVOTAMENT – TENACITATE
omania’s Navy (Fortele Navale Române/
FNR) is small comparing to other naval forces
in the Black Sea region and within NATO.
Though having a number of frigates,
corvettes and minesweepers the size of the
naval aviation component is limited to three
IAR.330 ‘Puma Naval’ locally designed and
built helicopters serving in a variety of
tasks.
R
orţele Navale Române reprezintă o
entitate mică în comparaţie cu forţele navale
ale altor state NATO din regiunea Mării Negre.
Chiar dacă au în componenţă fregate, corvete
şi căutătoare de mină, mărimea componentei
de aviaţie este limitată la trei elicoptere
construite în România IAR-330„Puma Naval”,
care îndeplinesc mai multe misiuni speci ce.
F