NEW CUMBERLAND, Pa. - The Romanian Air Force’s 74th Patriot Regiment conducted a Patriot missile live fire during the NATO air defense exercise Ramstein Legacy June 14, 2024, at Capu Midia Training Range, Romania.
It was just the second time a Patriot live fire took place in the country, as they work to modernize their air defense capabilities by replacing legacy systems with the Patriot through the U.S. Security Assistance Command’s (USASAC) Foreign Military Sales (FMS) program.
This is the first group of Romanian air defenders to complete the Patriot training, which is led by a Technical Assistance Field Team (TAFT) from USASAC’s Security Assistance Training Management Organization (SATMO).
The TAFT consists of two Soldiers and five contractors, who are also former U.S. Army air defenders. Over the course of six months, the Romanians were trained and tested on eight gunnery tables.
“Once they complete the certification of tables one through eight, it’s a stamp of approval that the unit is trained and ready to defend,” said Sgt. 1st Class Jonathan Burris, the TAFT noncommissioned officer in charge.
Conducting the live fire during Ramstein Legacy, which is Allied Air Command’s principal integrated air and missile defense exercise, was a significant opportunity for the Romanians. They were able to put their institutional knowledge into practice and prove their expertise with the new system during a high-profile exercise aimed at strengthening cooperation and the collective air defense capability of NATO.
“It demonstrates allied integration and interoperability as well as the country’s ability to defend itself from an air and missile threat,” said TAFT lead Maj. John Nastus.
Romania’s transition to the Patriot system also makes them a critical asset in regional security.
“If support is needed in NATO, they can move to protect that airspace because this equipment is very mobile,” said Burris. “You can pretty much pack it up, drive to a location and place it fairly quickly. It’s also shippable by air, land, sea and rail so it’s expeditionary. You can go anywhere.”
Burris praised the Romanian airmen for their performance during the training and capstone live fire event, where they successfully intercepted two out of two simulated cruise missile targets, which is a more difficult target to intercept.
“During the exercise they were extremely focused,” said Burris. “They were trained well, and I believe they were confident in their skills. They went out there, stayed safe, stayed calm, did the live fire with no incidents.”
For Nastus, it’s rewarding seeing the progression from day one with little to no knowledge of the system to “performing flawlessly” on advanced collective skills by completion of the training.
“We had some great trainees who were very receptive to our coaching and very good at taking feedback and improving their way of operating,” said Nastus.
SATMO deploys training and advisory teams to achieve U.S. national security objectives and stability in key locations across the globe, hence the motto “Train the World.”
“It’s strength in numbers, strength in training, and with USASAC and SATMO out there training our allies, I think it makes NATO stronger holistically,” said Burris.
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