Page 74 - HeliOps Frontline Issue 26

74 HELIOPS FRONTLINE / ISSUE 26 / 2019

It is a warm summer morning as commander Marius Mitric

walks across the platform towards the large maintenance

hangar of the “Black Sea Knights” at Tuzla Airport. The

Romanian Air Force colonel seems to be an odd man out on

the maritime airfield, but feels completely at home at the unit.

His unit is small, has only eight pilots in service and operates

just three IAR330L Puma Naval helicopters. However, the
maritime helicopters operate continuously from the east

coast of Romania – with 250 miles uncomfortably close to

the annexed Crimea. Sven van Roij spoke to the commander

about the diverse range of tasks of his helicopter group.

Frigates

In the 1920s, an air arm was created in the Royal Romanian
Navy. The air arm operated both flying boats and floatplanes
of Romanian, Italian and German origin. Mitric: ‘the concept of
Naval Aviation started with hydroaviation. We had airplanes for
sea landing until approximately 1965.’ Maritime aviation within
the Romanian Navy was reintroduced after the acquisition of two
frigates from the British Royal Navy, in early 2003, for £116 million.
The two Type 22 Broadsword class frigates were acquired from
the United Kingdom due to the modernization of the Romanian
fleet, with the aim of joining the NATO alliance. The anti-aircraft
and anti-ship weapon systems were not included in the deal. Hence
various – non-English – systems were mounted on the frigates,
including a 76 mm Oto Melara Super Rapid naval gun. The Forțele
Navale Române (Romanian Navy) also operates a third, Romanian-
built, Mărășești-class frigate since 1985. ‘Only the former-British
frigates can accommodate the Puma on its deck and inside its
hangar. Our third frigate can be used as a landing platform, is used
for VERTRAP-operations (vertical rappelling), hoist operations and so
on’, Mitric explains. The Type 22 frigates are regularly deployed for
operations with a Puma Naval on board, but the vessels systems are
outdated. Over the recent years, major equipment programs were
delayed and suspended, including the modernization of the Type