Defense minister Radu Miru\u0163\u0103 received a delegation of the Congress of the United States of America led by Democratic senator Jeanne Shaheen on Monday, February 16. Together, they visited the F-16 Training Center in Fete\u015fti.<\/p>\n
The officials toured the facility, which was\u00a0inaugurated in 2023 at the 86th Fete\u015fti Air Base.\u00a0Nowadays, the base “is an advanced training platform, unique at the European level, which provides Romanian, Ukrainian, and other allied and partner state pilots access to high-level training programs aligned with NATO standards,\u201d officials of the ministry stated, according to News.ro<\/a>.<\/p>\n Other NATO bases in Romania, such as those at Deveselu, Mihail Kog\u0103lniceanu, and C\u00e2mpia Turzii, were highlighted during subsequent discussions, as well as their role at the regional level.\u00a0<\/p>\n At the same time, Romania\u2019s firm commitment to the progressive supplementation of the defense budget was reaffirmed.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Romanian side showed particular interest in capitalizing on the financing mechanisms offered by the government of the United States for modernizing the Armed Forces, as well as in advancing the objectives established in the Roadmap regarding defense cooperation for 2020\u20132030,\u201d the ministry added.<\/p>\n During the meeting, the Democratic senator noted that the \u201csubject of Greenland is a closed one\u201d and that there is strong bipartisan support for NATO in the US Congress. She also dismissed a Republican-authored report in the US Congress that blamed the EU, not Russia, for interfering in several elections<\/a>, including the cancelled 2024 presidential election in Romania.<\/p>\n Last month, US defense officials announced<\/a> that American troops equipped with M1A2 Abrams tanks will be deployed to Romania as part of the rotational presence on NATO’s southeastern flank. The move does not imply an increase in the overall number of US troops stationed in Romania, but rather an upgrade in capabilities.<\/p>\n