Air Base Mihail Kogalniceanu near Constanta, Romania, is now being transformed into NATO’s center of operations in Southeast Europe.
NATO has begun expanding Air Base Mihail Kogalniceanu near Constanta, Romania, Euronews Romania announced on March 15. The base expansion project has a budget of €2.5 billion, and the result will be larger than Ramstein Air Base in Germany. MK, as it is called by some American service personnel already stationed there, will become the headwuarters for NATO in southeast Europe. The base lies approximately 110km from the Ukrainian border and about 15km from the Black Sea.
Plan for the century
Air Base Mihail Kogalniceanu has been in use by NATO member states, especially the United States, for over 20 years. The U.S. initiated its long-term presence at the site in 2007, with planning beginning in 2003. The site was seen as a possible forward staging area for NATO troops, though during Gulf War II, it was more of a transit point due to the lack of base infrastructure. In the early 2000s, despite $30 million in USAF funds and $63 million in US Army funds spent to update the facility through 2007, according to Stars & Stripes, cost savings compared to basing soldiers in Germany and the UK were expected.
MK is replacing Ramstein Airbase in Germany as the main center of operations for NATO in Southeast Europe. Plans call for up to 10,00 personnel and their families living near the base. As such, the construction project goes beyond airbase infrastructure such as revetments and hangars, and includes civilian buildings such as schools, hospitals, and housing. The inaugural construction at MK includes running utilities lines and improving road access.
While the construction entails considerable costs, the understanding that military aggression and warfare are long-term components of Europe’s security environment underscores the need for the expansion. Assets at MK will be used for everything from mine detection in the Black Sea to reconnaissance.
An added cost
While the development is nothing new, the Russian government is complaining about the ‘escalation’ 650km from the closest internationally recognized part of Russia. On March 16, Co-Chairman of the National Security Council of Russia, former President Dmitry Medvedev, tweeted that Romania will not see the 91 metric tons of gold sent to Moscow at the end of WWI for safe keeping, because of its ‘bad behavior’.
