UK ambassador to Romania Paul Brummel says 2107 will the most intense year in terms of defence cooperation, while NATO exercises prove the excellent collaboration between the two countries.
As far as defence collaboration is concerned, Brummel told AGERPRES in Constanta, I believe 2017 will be the most intense year in a very long time. He added that there are land exercises, navy visits, including the HMS Daring and HMS Duncan ships, and four Typhoon fighter aircraft attending joined exercises.
Brummell went on to say that joint military exercises prove the excellent cooperation ties between Romania and the UK.
The message, added the ambassador, is that Romania and the UK are friends and their armed forces work together. Romania and the UK, he added, want to build up interoperability and a NATO that is ready to defend the entire region. He said he believes the presence of the UK ships in Constanta and the four Typhoon aircraft and British troops on Romania’s soil are more than mere statements, as they are significant signs.
The UK ambassador voiced openness to cooperation in upgrading Romania’s armed forces, given that the UK has a defence industry sustained by a high level of expertise ready to cooperate, but the upgrading decisions are Romania’s.
Brummell on Wednesday attended in Constanta the presentation of HMS Daring. HMS Daring is one of six Type 45 destroyers in service with the Royal Navy and was the first to be launched. She was commissioned into the fleet in 2009. The Type 45 destroyer proudly lays claim as the world’s most advanced air defence At 151 metres long, 8,000 tonnes and packed with the latest in air warfare technology, Daring is a world leader. She can cruise at 30 knots, being equipped with three naval surface-to-air missile systems, two anti-ship missile launchers, 13 naval artillery systems and anti-submarine torpedo launchers.
The ship crew are divided into five departments, each comprising specialists in their area of expertise. Engineer Alana Pope said during the presentation of the systems on board that this is a complex defence system jointly designed by France, Italy, the IS and the UK, that is also hard to explain.
HMS Daring and the Regele Ferdinand frigate are currently conducting naval exercises to counter air attacks, tactical communication exercises as well as replenishment at sea manoeuvres. After ending the training, HMS Daring stopped over in the Constanta port for two days.
