The

Romanian Air Force The Romanian Air Force (RoAF) () is the air force branch of the Romanian Armed Forces. It has an air force headquarters, an operational command, five air bases, a logistics base, an air defense brigade, an air defense regiment and an ISR (Intel ...

90th Airlift Base "Comandor Aviator Gheorghe Bănciulescu" (), also known as Otopeni Air Base, is located at the

Henri Coandă International Airport Henri is the French form of the masculine given name Henry, also in Estonian, Finnish, German and Luxembourgish. Bearers of the given name include: People French nobles * Henri I de Montmorency (1534–1614), Marshal and Constable of France * ...

, near

Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ) is the capital and largest city of Romania. The metropolis stands on the River Dâmbovița (river), Dâmbovița in south-eastern Romania. Its population is officially estimated at 1.76 million residents within a greater Buc ...

. The base is currently home to the 901st and 902nd Air Transport squadrons, operating

C-130 Hercules The Lockheed C-130 Hercules is an American four-engine turboprop military transport aircraft designed and built by Lockheed Corporation, Lockheed (now Lockheed Martin). Capable of using unprepared runways for takeoffs and landings, the C-130 w ...

C-27J Spartan The Alenia C-27J Spartan is a military transport aircraft developed and manufactured by Leonardo's Aircraft Division (formerly Alenia Aermacchi until 2016). It is an advanced derivative of the former Alenia Aeronautica's earlier G.222 (C-27 ...

An-26 The Antonov An-26 (NATO reporting name: Curl) is a twin-engined turboprop civilian and military transport aircraft, designed and produced in the Soviet Union from 1969 to 1986.Gordon, Yefim. Komissarov, Dmitry & Sergey. "Antonov's Turboprop Twins ...

and

An-30 The Antonov An-30 (NATO reporting name: Clank), is a development of the An-24 designed for aerial cartography. It is the second member of the Antonov An-24 family, succeeding the An-24, while preceding the An-26, An-32 and canceled An-132. D ...

aircraft, as well as the 903rd Transport Helicopter Squadron, operating the IAR-330L and IAR 330M. The 90th Airlift Base was also the home of the Presidential and

Government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a State (polity), state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive (government), execu ...

aircraft. In October 2004, the 71st Helicopter Squadron was transferred to the 90th Airlift Base, adding IAR-330 SOCAT to its inventory. The 90th Airlift Base has also

MEDEVAC Medical evacuation, often shortened to medevac or medivac, is the timely and efficient movement and en route care provided by medical personnel to patients requiring evacuation or transport using medically equipped air ambulances, helicopters an ...

capability. The current commander of the base is '' General de flotilă aeriană'' Ion Emil-Florian Tecuceanu.

History

The Otopeni military airport was built around 1940 and initially intended as a military training center. It was extensively used by the

Luftwaffe The Luftwaffe () was the aerial warfare, aerial-warfare branch of the before and during World War II. German Empire, Germany's military air arms during World War I, the of the Imperial German Army, Imperial Army and the of the Imperial Ge ...

in 1941 with units of the '' Sturzkampfgeschwader 2'' and ''

Jagdgeschwader 77 ''Jagdgeschwader'' 77 (JG 77) ''Herz As'' ("Ace of Hearts") was a Luftwaffe fighter wing during World War II. It served in all the German theaters of war, from Western Europe to the Eastern Front, and from the high north in Norway to the Mediterr ...

'' located there. The Romanian '' Grupul 6 Vânătoare'' also used the airport between June and August 1941. The base was further expanded in 1943, being outfitted with fighter control equipment. From July 1943 until 1944, it functioned as the headquarters of Jagdfliegerführer Rumänien commanding the day and

night fighter A night fighter (later known as all-weather fighter or all-weather interceptor post-Second World War) is a largely historical term for a fighter aircraft, fighter or interceptor aircraft adapted or designed for effective use at night, during pe ...

s which were defending Romania from Allied air raids. At the same time, night fighter units such as '' Nachtjagdgeschwader 6'' and '' Nachtjagdgeschwader 100'' also began to be based there. After Romania turned against

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...

in 1944, Otopeni began to be used by the Romanian military. In 1949, the 8th Transport Aviation Regiment (''Regimentul 8 Aviație Transport'') was established on the "Romeo Popescu" aerodrome at

Giulești Giulești () is a neighbourhood in northwestern Bucharest, located in Sector 6. The Giulești Stadium, Giulești Theatre, Podul Grant are located in Giulești. Also, the Grivița Railway Yards and Lacul Morii are located nearby. History T ...

. The regiment was transferred to the Otopeni airport, where in 1951 it changed its name to the 108th Aviation Transport Regiment. With this occasion, the battle flag of the regiment was decorated with ''Ordinul Apărarea patriei''. In 1959, the Regiment was transformed in the 99th Transport Aviation Regiment. From 1986 to 1988, the 99th Transport Aviation Regiment was part of the 50th Transport Aviation Flotilla (''Flotila 50 Aviație Transport''), a unit formed in 1972, and from 1988 to 1990 it acted as an independent structure named the 99th Transport Aviation Group (''Grupul 99 Aviație Transport''). In 1990, the 90th Air Transport Base was formed by merging the 50th Transport Aviation Flotilla and the 99th Aviation Transport Group. The Base received the battle flag and the title of "Comandor Aviator

Gheorghe Bănciulescu Gheorghe Bănciulescu (28 December 1898 – 12 April 1935) was a Romanian early aviator. He is believed to be the first pilot in the world to fly with his feet amputation, amputated. Biography He was the son of an infantry officer, he attended ...

" in 1995. The first

C-130 The Lockheed C-130 Hercules is an American four-engine turboprop military transport aircraft designed and built by Lockheed Corporation, Lockheed (now Lockheed Martin). Capable of using unprepared runways for takeoffs and landings, the C-130 w ...

airplanes entered service in 1996, followed by the

C-27J The Alenia C-27J Spartan is a military transport aircraft developed and manufactured by Leonardo's Aircraft Division (formerly Alenia Aermacchi until 2016). It is an advanced derivative of the former Alenia Aeronautica's earlier G.222 (C-27 ...

in 2010. In 2019, during the 70-year anniversary of the base, its battle flag was decorated with the Order of Aeronautical Virtue by

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

Klaus Iohannis Klaus Werner Iohannis (; ; born 13 June 1959) is a Romanian politician, physicist, and former teacher who served as the fifth president of Romania from 2014 until his resignation in 2025. Prior to entering Politics of Romania, national politics, ...

. The C-130s of the 90th Airlift Base participated in the 2021 Kabul airlift, evacuating Romanian and Bulgarian citizens from Afghanistan.

2007 IAR-330 SOCAT crash

Three crewmen were killed on 7 November 2007, including ''Comandor'' Nicolae Bucur (one of the most experienced RoAF pilots, with over 2,700 flying hours), when an IAR-330 Puma SOCAT helicopter belonging to the 90th Airlift Base crashed in

Ungheni Ungheni () is a municipality in Moldova. With a population of 35,157, it is the seventh largest town in Moldova and the seat of Ungheni District. There is a bridge across the Prut and a List of Moldova–Romania border crossings, border chec ...

, near

Pitești Pitești () is a city in Romania, located on the river Argeș (river), Argeș. The capital and largest city of Argeș County, it is an important commercial and industrial center, as well as the home of two universities. Pitești is situated in th ...

Argeș County Argeș County () is a county (''județ'') of Romania, in Muntenia, with the county seat at Pitești. Demographics At the 2021 Romanian census, 2021 census, the county had a population of 569,932 and the population density was . At the 2011 Ro ...

. The aircraft was performing a night training mission when it disappeared from

radar Radar is a system that uses radio waves to determine the distance ('' ranging''), direction ( azimuth and elevation angles), and radial velocity of objects relative to the site. It is a radiodetermination method used to detect and track ...

. Immediately after the crash, the 90th air base detached two helicopters for a

search and rescue Search and rescue (SAR) is the search for and provision of aid to people who are in distress or imminent danger. The general field of search and rescue includes many specialty sub-fields, typically determined by the type of terrain the search ...

mission.

2023 NATO AWACS deployment

It was announced on 12 January 2023 that three

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental Transnationalism, transnational military alliance of 32 Member states of NATO, member s ...

AWACS planes were to be deployed from

NATO Air Base Geilenkirchen NATO Air Base Geilenkirchen (E-3A Component) is located near Geilenkirchen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is the main operating base of the NATO Boeing E-3 Sentry Component, one of two operational elements of the NATO Airborne Early Warn ...

. The planes are to conduct missions for several weeks, monitoring Russian military activity in response to the

2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, , starting the largest and deadliest war in Europe since World War II, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, conflict between the two countries which began in 2014. The fighting has caused hundreds of thou ...

. The first Boeing E-3 Sentry airplanes arrived at the base on 17 January.

Air base equipment

In 2022, the RoAF 90th air base equipment consisted of: *2 C-130B (5930, 6166) *2 C-130H (6191, 7432) *2 C-130H2 (9142, 9143) *7

(2701, 2702, 2703, 2704, 2705, 2706, 2707) *1

AN-26 The Antonov An-26 (NATO reporting name: Curl) is a twin-engined turboprop civilian and military transport aircraft, designed and produced in the Soviet Union from 1969 to 1986.Gordon, Yefim. Komissarov, Dmitry & Sergey. "Antonov's Turboprop Twins ...

(810) *2

AN-30 The Antonov An-30 (NATO reporting name: Clank), is a development of the An-24 designed for aerial cartography. It is the second member of the Antonov An-24 family, succeeding the An-24, while preceding the An-26, An-32 and canceled An-132. D ...

(1104, 1105) *3

IAR 330 The IAR 330 is a licensed production, licence-built version of the Aérospatiale SA 330 Puma helicopter, manufactured by the Romanian aerospace manufacturer Industria Aeronautică Română. The IAR 330 was produced under a licensing agreement w ...

VIP (21, 40, 55), 2 MEDEVAC (75, 106), 2 TRANSPORT (74, 77)

Stored equipment

*1 C-130B (6150) *1

(801) *3

Puma (07, 10, 91)

Decorations

;Pre–1990 The unit has received the following decorations: * Order of the Defense of the Fatherland (3rd class – 1951) ;Post–1990 The 90th Airlift Base has received the following decorations: * ROU Aeronautical Virtue Order 2002 Comm BAR

ROU Aeronautical Virtue Order 2002 Comm BAR

ROU Aeronautical Virtue Order 2002-war-ribbon Knight BAR

Order of Aeronautical Virtue, (Peacetime, Knight – 2011, Officer – 2019, Commander – 2024; Wartime, Knight – 2021)

Gallery

File:DF-SD-01-09305.jpg,

Slovak Air Force The Slovak Air Force, known since 2002 as the Air Force of the Armed Forces of the Slovakia, Slovak Republic (), is the aviation and air defense branch of the Military of Slovakia, Slovak Armed Forces. Operating 15 aircraft and 18 helicopters fro ...

An-12 The Antonov An-12 (Russian language, Russian: Антонов Ан-12; NATO reporting name: Cub) is a four-engined turboprop Cargo aircraft, transport aircraft designed in the Soviet Union. It is the military version of the Antonov An-10 and has ...

during exercise Cooperative Key '96 File:37th Airlift Squadron at Otopeni Air Base.jpg, C-130J Super Hercules aircraft at Otopeni in 2017 File:Romanian air force C-27J at Otopeni.jpg, Romanian

and US C-130 during Carpathian Summer 19 File:IAR 330 helicopter with flag 2013 Romanian National Day (53746582).jpg,

in flight File:Antonov An-30 in Romanian service (8735969137).jpg,

at 90th Airlift Base File:KC-135 Stratotanker "Sly Fox" in Bucharest, Romania.jpg,

KC-135 Stratotanker The Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker is an American military aerial refueling tanker aircraft that was developed from the Boeing 367-80 prototype, alongside the Boeing 707 airliner. It has a narrower fuselage and is shorter than the 707. Boeing gave ...

"Sly Fox" in 2019 File:NATO AWACS deployed to Romania.jpg, NATO AWACS aircraft parked at the base

References

External links

*
90th Airlift Base on the Romanian Air Force official website
*
Order of Battle of the RoAF
{{Romanian Air Force units and formations 90 Buildings and structures in Ilfov County 1940 establishments in Romania