Baza 71 Aeriană "General Emanoil Ionescu” Campia Turzii

In September 2015 as part of the HAS Tour of Romania we visited Baza 71 Aerian "General Emanoil Ionescu”

The military airfield is located near to the town of Campia Turzii in the Cluj county of Romania. First built in 1953 during the Cold War it is a major part of Romania's defences. The base was renamed in 2002 as Baza 71 Aeriană "General Emanoil Ionescu" as part of the Romanian Armed Forces reorganization program.

The main purpose of Baza 71 is “Air Defence” providing 24 hour all weather interception using the updated MiG-21 LanceR fighters.

Baza 71 Aeriană "General Emanoil Ionescu is home to the following Squadrons of the Romanian Air Force:

711 Squadron MiG-21 LanceR A/B

712 Squadron MiG-21 LanceR B/C

713 Squadron IAR 330 Puma SOCAT

The tour with the kind permission of the Base Commander consisted of time spent watching the MiG-21 LanceR launch and recoveries from a great vantage point not far from the runway, this was followed by a close up and personal look at the MiG-21 LanceR types at a maintenance hangar facility then finally a demonstration of the state of the art MiG-21 LanceR flight simulator where pilots practice emergency procedures and learn new skills without having to fly costly missions.

Due to Campia Turzii’s strategic location within Romania, Baza 71 often sees deployments from NATO Allies. Our Visit coincided with a USAF ANG detachment as part of Operation Atlantic Resolve (report can be found here : http://www.cliffibell.co.uk/operation-atlantic-resolve )

A full set of photos from the visit to Baza 71 Campia Tuzii can be found here: http://www.cliffibell.co.uk/p837458939

I would like to thank the Base Commander Baza 71 for allowing this visit, our host Major Moldovan and Darren Willmin of HAS for arranging this visit. A special thanks must go to Lt Laura Istrate from the Romanian Headquarters in Bucharest who made the whole tour of the Romanian Air Force facilities a reality.