MiG-21 Lancer makes a good job in France too !

The Romanian fighter pilots and MiG-21 LanceR made a great impression once again, this time in their visit to France

A team of romanian fighter pilots and updated MiG-21 Lancers camed back friday afternoon from a big NATO exercise in France.
The team was lead by Cmdr. Valentin Portan, Chief of the Air Force and Anti-Aircraft Defense in the Romanian Armed Forces.
With Cmdr. Portan were Cmdr. Liviu Burhalã, commander of the 95th Fighter Base located at Bacãu AFB, Cmdr. cpt Victor Strâmbeanu, commander of Fetesti AFB, cpt Lucian Anastasof, a squadron leader at Fetesti AFB. They were accompanied by a numerous technical support team.
The four airmen showned their skills on some MiG21 Lancers upgraded at Aerostar SA - Bacãu. Both the romanian pilots and fighters made a deep impression to the present NATO air staff. The romanian pilots also flew on french Alpha Jets while the french pilots "checked- out" the MiG21 Lancer.
The NATO operation was named Operation VOLFAC '99 and it started in the 27th of september 1999, and during those days the Commander of the French Air Forces, general Bertrand Dumont flew in a two-seater MiG21 Lancer, having as a co-pilot his romanian counterpart, Valentin Portan.
The french commander was deeply impressed of the new Lancer upgrade and this is not the first time that french and romanian fighter pilots and their aircraft are together. Actually, in the last few yrs, Romania and France made a large array of common military exercises and romanian MiG-21 Lancers and MiG-29 Fulcrums (future Snipers) were together a lot of times with french Alpha Jets, both in France and Romania, in Romania at Borcea AFB, Fetesti AFB and Mihail Kogãlniceanu AFB (the last one is an elite air force unit located 20km NE of Constanta).
The Lancers visit in september 1999 returned the French Air Force visit in october 1998, when 4 Alpha Jets visited the Mihail Kogalniceanu AFB, some 20km NE of Constanta.

©1999, Sorin A Crâsmarelu

september 1999