Mihai Kogalniceanu (MK) Air Base in Romania is named after the village next to it, which in turn was named after a 19th century liberal politician. Before the war broke out in Ukraine it was a simple air base. Today, however, it is becoming the largest NATO base in Europe, larger even than Ramstein in Germany, despite its unlikely location.

It will soon feature a squadron of Romanian F-16s – recently purchased from Norway – as well as MQ-9 Reaper drones as well as an entire military city where the NATO army, air force and navy from 32 countries will rotate.

The last to arrive at the base are the Finns. Just 20 kilometers (12 miles) from the Black Sea coast, the base is 300 kilometers from Odessa and 400 kilometers from Sevastopol in Russian-held Crimea.

“There is a much larger US presence here, much more infrastructure, accommodation, people and equipment,” RAF pilot Charlie Tagg said.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has changed both the areas he flies in and the mission’s strategic posture. In 2021, NATO fighter pilots were flying well outside international waters in the Black Sea. But now they stay in the 12 nautical mile zone above Romanian and Bulgarian territorial waters, “to avoid misunderstandings and escalating situations with the Russians.”

“Previously we were here as a deterrent to any Russian aggression. Now we act as an assurance to other NATO countries, such as Romania, that we are here and ready to defend them.”

While NATO aircraft avoid unnecessary “encounters” with the Russians, there have been two known incidents over the Black Sea. In particular, in September 2022 a Russian pilot misunderstood an order and failed to shoot down a British intelligence-gathering plane with a crew of up to 30 people. In March 2023, a US MQ-9 Reaper drone, flown from Romania, was deliberately shot down by a Russian SU-27 “Flanker” aircraft, over international waters.

Despite this, everyday life at the Mihai Kogalniceanu base is mostly calm. Scott Delay of US Army Support – Black Sea, is organizing the logistics needed for the 1,840 US personnel currently at the base.

“We try to give them a sense of home while they are here. So it’s not really different from any community. He just has a fence round.’

But one thing American soldiers are having a hard time getting used to, he says, is delivery times for products they’ve ordered online since it can take weeks in Romania, instead of hours.