The Patriot system, successfully tested by the Romanian military

The Romanian military masters the new technique in the field, a fact confirmed by yesterday's successful shooting with the Patriot system that took place in the Capul Midia range. It was the first firing with the Patriot system carried out only with Romanian soldiers, since the entry of this system into the equipment of the Romanian Army in 2020 and until now.

They attended yesterday's tactical exercise as distinguished visitors. Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu, President of the Senate - Nicolae Ciucă, Minister of National Defense - Angel Tîlvăr, Ambassador of the United States in Bucharest - Kathleen Kavalec and General Daniel Petrescu - Chief of the Defense Staff.

At the end of the military exercise, Nicolae Ciucă stated in a post on the official Facebook page: "Today I witnessed the first real firings with the Patriot missile systems entered into the endowment of the Romanian Air Force. The operationalization of these systems is the most important stage of this essential program of endowment of the Romanian Army. The airspace of our country is, as of today, safer, both thanks to the equipment provided by the Army, but also thanks to the security guarantees offered by the membership of the strongest political-military alliance in the world and the Strategic Partnership with American allies. Ensuring Romania's security, a safe climate in the region, is one of the essential conditions for ensuring the prosperity and sustainable development of the country".

Kathleen Kavalec, US Ambassador to Bucharest said: "This exercise is a testament to the dedication of the Romanian government and armed forces to have one of the most modern and efficient armies on the European continent. Shooting a missile out of the air is incredibly difficult, but as today's exercise shows, highly dedicated operators have the skills and tools to do just that."

The ambassador emphasized the importance of the Strategic Partnership between the United States and Romania and the strong security relationship between the two states.

Kathleen Kavalec also said: "Today's exercise (ed. - yesterday) is an example of the common vision of peace and stability, and the United States Government is here to support and collaborate with Romania. The exercise represents Romania's continued investment in security and deterrence in the Black Sea. While the whole world watches how malignant actors use missiles to terrorize and attack peaceful nations, Romania provides a strong and vigilant defense of NATO's eastern flank".

The Minister of National Defense, Angel Tîlvăr posted, on his Facebook page, a video from the exercises that took place at the Capu Midia range. "The first firing with the Patriot surface-to-air missile system equipped with the Romanian Air Force, in the Capu Midia range," Tîlvăr wrote.

According to the information provided by the Ministry of National Defense, during yesterday's exercise, a target was launched that reached a distance of 60 kilometers from the shore, after which the PAC-2 ATM missile from the Patriot system was launched, which intercepted and destroyed that target, everything going according to the original plan.

A single Patriot battery costs more than $1 billion, of which the launch system costs $400 million and the associated missiles cost $690 million, according to the Center for Strategic and International Studies think tank.

The Patriot system is built by the American company Raytheon, which has delivered more than 240 systems to 18 countries to date. The Patriot system has been in high demand in the Middle East due to ongoing threats in the region and according to Raytheon has intercepted more than 150 ballistic missiles in combat since 2015.