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 ...

93rd Air Base (), also known as Giarmata Air Base, was an air base located in the commune

Giarmata Giarmata (; until 1925 Iermata Timișană; ; ) is a commune in Timiș County, Romania. It is composed of two villages, Cerneteaz and Giarmata (commune seat). History Traces of a Neolithic settlement and materials of Daco-Roman origin were disco ...

, near

Timișoara Timișoara (, , ; , also or ; ; ; see #Etymology, other names) is the capital city of Timiș County, Banat, and the main economic, social and cultural center in Western Romania. Located on the Bega (Tisza), Bega River, Timișoara is consider ...

, at the Traian Vuia International Airport. The base was disbanded in August 2004 due to the

Romanian Armed Forces The Romanian Armed Forces ( or ''Armata Română'') are the military forces of Romania. It comprises the Land Forces, the Naval Forces and the Air Force. The current Commander-in-chief is Lieutenant General Gheorghiță Vlad who is managed by ...

reorganisation program and the retirement of the

MiG-23 The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-23 (; NATO reporting name: Flogger) is a variable-geometry fighter aircraft, designed by the Mikoyan-Gurevich design bureau in the Soviet Union. It is a third-generation jet fighter, alongside similar Soviet aircra ...

s which were based here. The military sector of the Traian Vuia International Airport is currently an annex of the 71st Air Base hosting the 712th Helicopter Squadron (operating IAR-330M). The base also hosts

Bayraktar TB2 Bayraktar TB2 (Turkish language, Turkish: ''Standard-bearer TB2'') is a Medium-altitude long-endurance UAV, medium-altitude long-endurance (MALE) unmanned combat aerial vehicle (UCAV) capable of remotely controlled or autonomous flight operati ...

drones of the

Romanian Land Forces The Romanian Land Forces () is the army of Romania, and the main component of the Romanian Armed Forces. Since 2007, full professionalization and a major equipment overhaul have transformed the nature of the Land Forces. The Romanian Land Force ...

operated by the 184th Sensors and Anti-aircraft Defense Battalion.

History

Cold War

The base was established in 1953 as the 93rd Aviation Regiment (''Regimentul 93 Aviație''), following the transfer of an existing unit from

Ianca Ianca () is a town in Brăila County, Muntenia, Romania. With a population of 8,969 people as of 2021, it is the second-largest urban locality in the county. The town's area is , of which have the status of residential area. The town administers ...

. At that time, the regiment was equipped with

Po-2 Po2, pO2, , or PO2 may refer to: * A military rank: ** Petty Officer 2nd Class in the Canadian military ** Petty Officer Second Class in the United States military * Polikarpov Po-2 or U-2, a Soviet aeroplane * Partial pressure of Oxygen, that is, ...

Yak-11 The Yakovlev Yak-11 (; NATO reporting name: "Moose") is a trainer aircraft used by the Soviet Air Force and other Soviet-influenced air forces from 1947 in aviation, 1947 until 1962 in aviation, 1962. Design and development The Yakovlev, Yakovl ...

and

Yak-17 The Yakovlev Yak-17 (; USAF/ DOD designation Type 16, NATO reporting name Feather) is an early Soviet jet fighter. It was developed from the Yak-15, the primary difference being tricycle landing gear. The trainer version, known as the Yak-17 ...

aircraft. Following this transfer, the base was overhauled and from 1954

Yak-23 The Yakovlev Yak-23 (; USAF/DoD reporting name Type 28, NATO reporting name Flora) is an early Soviet jet fighter with a straight wing. It was developed from the Yak-17 in the late 1940s and used a reverse-engineered copy of a British engine. It ...

fighters began their missions at the base. In 1955, the first

MiG-15 The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15 (; USAF/DoD designation: Type 14; NATO reporting name: Fagot) is a jet fighter aircraft developed by Mikoyan-Gurevich for the Soviet Union. The MiG-15 was one of the first successful jet fighters to incorporate s ...

s entered service with the regiment, and in 1959 the regiment changed its name to the 93rd Fighter Aviation Regiment. In 1962, the regiment received

MiG-21F-13 This is a list of variants and specifications for variants of the Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21, which differed considerably between models. Variants All information in this section adapted from ''MiG-21'' (2008).Gordon, Yefim. ''Mikoyan MiG-21'' (Fam ...

fighters. These were brought by

Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

pilots from the Deveselu Air Base (at that time the 91st Fighter Aviation Regiment). Pilots were transferred from

Craiova Craiova (, also , ) is the largest city in southwestern Romania, List of Romanian cities, the seventh largest city in the country and the capital of Dolj County, situated near the east bank of the river Jiu River, Jiu in central Oltenia. It i ...

and Deveselu air bases to operate the new jets. Starting in 1968, the regiment began taking part in escort missions for presidential planes. In 1972, the 31st Reconnaissance Squadron (''Escadrila 31 Aviație Cercetare''), independent from the 91st Regiment and equipped with MiG-21R aircraft was established. The first

fighters arrived at the base in 1979.

Post-1990

By 1992, the 93rd Regiment had two squadrons equipped with MiG-23 and one with MiG-21. In 1995, the regiment was transformed into the 93rd Air Base following the restructuring of the Air Force and the abandoning of the communist-era regimental system. The 31st Squadron was disbanded in 1998, while in 1999, the first MiG-21 LanceRs arrived at the base. In 1996, the base hosted the

USAF Thunderbirds The USAF Air Demonstration Squadron is the air demonstration squadron of the United States Air Force The Thunderbirds, as they are popularly known, are assigned to the 57th Wing, and are based at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada. Created in 1953 ...

, Giarmata being the start location for their 30-day European tour. In 2000, it hosted the largest air show of western Romania on the 90th anniversary of

Aurel Vlaicu Aurel Vlaicu (; 19 November 1882 – 13 September 1913) was a Romanian engineer, inventor, airplane constructor, and early pilot.Gheorghiu, 1960 Early years and education Aurel Vlaicu was born in the village of Bințințiencenc in Transylvan ...

's first flight with the A Vlaicu I. Following the disbanding of the 73rd Helicopter Group from

Caransebeș Caransebeș (; ; , Hungarian pronunciation: ) is a city in Caraș-Severin County, part of the Banat region in southwestern Romania. One village, Jupa (), is administered by the city. The city is located at the confluence of the Timiș River with ...

, its helicopters were moved to Giarmata. After the MiG-23s were retired, the 93rd Air Base was disbanded on 31 August 2004 with the official ceremony taking place in September. The remaining MiG-21s from the base were redistributed to other bases. Currently, the base retains the

AN/FPS-117 The AN/FPS-117 is an L-band active electronically scanned array (AESA) 3-dimensional air search radar first produced by GE Aerospace in 1980 and now part of Lockheed Martin. The system offers instrumented detection at ranges on the order of and ...

radar system, and is also an annex of the 71st Air Base, hosting the 712th Helicopter Squadron. The base also housed the Romanian Shadow 600 drones operated by the 142nd Unmanned Aircraft Squadron. In 2003, the drones were reassigned to the General Directorate for Defense Intelligence and by 2019 the number of drones still in service was uncertain. On 23 April 2023, it was announced that the

drones purchased for the

were to be delivered to the 93rd Air Base.

drones are operated by the Bayraktar Company of the 184th Sensors and Anti-aircraft Defense Battalion.

Based units

The following units operate from the Giarmata base.

Romanian Air Force

Air Force General Staff * 71st Air Base ** 712th Helicopter Squadron

Romanian Land Forces

Land Forces Command * 18th Intelligence Surveillance Reconnaissance Brigade "Decebal" ** 184th Sensors and Anti-aircraft Defense Battalion "Timiș" *** Bayraktar Company

External links

*
Order of Battle of the RoAF
*

References

{{Romanian Air Force units and formations Romanian Air Force bases Buildings and structures in Timiș County 1953 establishments in Romania Military units and formations disestablished in 2004 2004 disestablishments in Romania