Mission Aigle
Mission Aigle | |
---|---|
Mission Aigle | |
Active | 28 February 2022 – present |
Allegiance | NATO |
Type | Army |
Size | c. 1,100 |
Part of | NATO Enhanced Forward Presence |
The Mission Aigle is a French-led military mission deployed to
History
On 28 February 2022, France deployed a spearhead battalion of the rapid response force to Romania.[1] On 1 May 2022, the multinational battalion constituted the Battle Group Forward Presence (BGFP) in Romania, with France as the lead nation.[2] For the first time, France assumed the role of leading nation in a NATO reassurance mission.[3] The BGFP is a multinational battalion tasked with reinforcing the operational capabilities of the deployed troops.[2] Currently, the Multinational Battlegroup is under the command of the Multinational Division South-East based in Bucharest.[4]
To house the battlegroup, a new
On 18 October, French Leclercs of the 7th Armored Brigade departed for Romania.[9] The tanks arrived in Voila on 16 November.[10] On 6 December, the tanks took part in the first live fire exercise at Cincu during exercise Eagle Zori.[11]
Name and symbol
Aigle means "Eagle" in
Strength
As of July 2023, the multinational force in Romania is made up of more than 1000 soldiers, organized in the following units:[4]
- Multinational Battlegroup in Cincu
- Medium-range surface-to-air defence detachment (Détachement sol-air moyenne portée - SAMP) MAMBA, in Capu Midia
- National support echelon (Échelon de soutien national - ESN), in Cincu and Mihail Kogalniceanu
- Senior National Representative (SNR) and the Brigade Forward Command Element (BFCE) in Bucharest
Participating in the mission are forces from France, Belgium and the Netherlands.[12] From 21 March 2023, Luxembourg also joined the Aigle mission.[13]
Multinational Battlegroup
The Multinational Battlegroup consists of 1,000 soldiers, of which 300 Belgian and 30 Luxembourgish soldiers, and is commanded by Colonel Benoît Chrissement.[14] It is equipped with the following:[15]
Model | Number |
---|---|
Leclerc tank | 13 |
Char de dépannage DNG/DCL | 2 |
VBCI | 24 |
Véhicule de l'Avant Blindé | 37 |
Petit Véhicule Protégé | 19 |
Véhicule Blindé Léger | 32 |
ACMAT VT4 | 37 |
CAESAR[16] | 4 |
Lance Roquette Unitaire[17] |
3 |
120mm mortar | 4 |
Transport trucks | 10+ |
MAMBA system
From 6 May, at the request of the Romanian authorities and NATO, the French forces deployed the MAMBA ground-to-air defence system at the Capu Midia base. The system is composed of several interconnected modules. Each launch unit can salvo fire up to eight ASTER 30 missiles. To increase the efficiency, the system is connected and integrated via a tactical data link to the Romanian, and NATO defense systems, which command it. Following a test phase, the MAMBA system was certified and is now fully integrated in the NATO Integrated Air Missile Defence (IAMD).[18]
Gallery
-
T-55 tanks of the Romanian 814th tank battalion and French Leclercs in Turda
-
RomanianHIMARS and a French LRU firing during exercise Eagle Royal at Capu Midia
-
Combined training for Romanian, Portuguese and French soldiers, exercise Eagle Black
-
CAESAR artillery system
-
Leclerc tank firing during exercise Eagle Fulger
See also
References
- ^ a b Ministère des Armées 2022, p. 3.
- ^ a b Ministère des Armées 2022, p. 10.
- ^ Ministère des Armées 2022, p. 5.
- ^ a b Ministère des Armées 2023, p. 7–8.
- ^ Tudor Curtifan (8 July 2022). "Luptă contra cronometru: Francezii ridică în timp record o bază militară - oraș la Cincu. Proiect comun între România și Franța". DefenseRomania (in Romanian).
- ^ Emilien Lacombe (4 November 2022). "French soldiers in Romania are "hungry" and "cold"". frenchdailynews.com.
- ^ "Ambasada Franței în România: Nu am primit nicio plângere formală privind condiţiile din baza Cincu din partea militarilor francezi". DefenseRomania (in Romanian). 8 November 2022.
- ^ Emilien Diaz (28 March 2023). "VIDÉOS. Au coeur de la mission AIGLE en Roumanie avec le 1er régiment d'artillerie de Belfort". France 3 Bourgogne (in French).
- ^ "Ukraine: départ de blindés français vers la Roumanie". Le Figaro (in French). 18 October 2022.
- ^ "FOTO Tancurile franceze Leclerc au ajuns în România și se alătură Grupului de Luptă NATO de la Cincu". HotNews (in Romanian). 16 November 2022.
- ^ "AIGLE – Premiers tirs des chars Leclerc lors de l'exercice EAGLE ZORI". Ministère des Armées (in French). 15 December 2022.
- ^ a b Ministère des Armées 2022, p. 7.
- ^ "AIGLE – Cérémonie d'intégration de la section luxembourgeoise". Ministère des Armées (in French). 24 March 2023.
- ^ "Colonelul Benoît Chrissement a preluat comanda Grupului de luptă al NATO în România". G4Media (in Romanian). 24 February 2024.
- ^ Ministère des Armées 2023, p. 9.
- ^ "Point de situation des opérations du jeudi 20 au mercredi 26 juillet 2023". Ministère des Armées (in French). Retrieved 29 July 2023.
- ^ "LRU: lance roquette unitaire". Ministère des Armées (in French). Retrieved 29 March 2023.
- ^ Ministère des Armées 2022, pp. 12, 13.
Bibliography
- "Press Kit - Mission AIGLE" (PDF). Ministère des Armées. 2022.
- "Press Kit - Mission AIGLE" (PDF) (in French). Ministère des Armées. July 2023.