Romania’s air force has obtained certification to receive fuel from U.S. tankers through an air-to-air refueling mission between the European country’s F-16 Fighting Falcon and the U.S. Air Force‘s KC-135 Stratotanker.
USAF said its 100th Air Refueling Wing sent 14 personnel and a KC-135 tanker to Romania for a five-day training operation and a refueling mission held Feb. 28.
The service branch said Romania had to undergo familiarization training and certification to refuel from a U.S. tanker and advance their NATO integration.
Lee Adkins, superintendent of the 351st Air Refueling Squadron, said the event builds on the interoperability efforts between the U.S. and Romania and shows continued cooperation with partner nations in Europe.
Romania began its F-16 program in 2016 and has previously refueled from an Italian Airbus A330 aircraft.
The 100th ARW is based in England and is the only U.S. air refueling unit in the European and African theater.
