Washington. January 5. INTERFAX-The United States has permanently deployed a squadron of MQ-9 Reaper reconnaissance and strike drones to the Campia Turzii air base in Romania, the US Air Force Europe and Africa Command said.
"The US Air Force has deployed MQ-9 Reaper drones and about 90 military personnel to the 71st Air base at Campia Turzii in Romania to conduct reconnaissance and surveillance missions in support of NATO operations," the statement said.
"The forward deployment of ready-to - operate MQ-9s in this key strategic area will reassure our allies and partners, as well as make it clear to our adversaries that we can respond quickly to any emerging threat," said General Jeff Harrigian, commander of U.S. Air Forces Europe and Africa.
In 2018 American drones MQ-9 Reaper on a permanent basis was placed at the 12 th air force base in Mirosławiec, Poland. In 2019 and 2020, they were briefly transferred to Romania.
The Polish Miroslavets air base is located 270 km from the Kaliningrad region, and the Romanian Kympia-Turzii air base is 680 km from the Crimea.
MQ-9 Reaper belong to the class of unmanned aerial vehicles of medium altitude and long flight duration. They were widely used by the US military to launch targeted strikes against targets of terrorist groups in Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria.
The drone is capable of flying at a range of up to 2 thousand km and can carry 1.7 tons of payload, including guided missiles, aerial bombs on external suspensions, and is also equipped with on-board optoelectronic and radio-electronic reconnaissance equipment.
