Italian Typhoons and Romanian MiG-21 LanceRs fly together during the Black Sea Air Show 2019 at Mihail Kogalniceanu airport, Romania.

On 13 July, the Mihail Kogalniceanu international airport, Romania, hosted the first edition of the "Black Sea Air Show". The event came eight years after the previous "Thunder over the Black Sea" air show held in 2011.

Although the Black Sea Air Show was organized by civil associations, it included several military aircraft as the airfield is shared with the Baza 57 Aeriană (Air Force 57th Air Base) of the Forțele Aeriene Române (Romanian Air Force).

The 57th Air Base is located on the east coast of Romania, on the Black Sea side, and hosts the RoAF and NATO fighters involved in the surveillance of Romanian airspace. Thanks to the presence of a detachment of Italian Typhoons, the visitors could admire powerful take-offs and fly-bys performed by two Italian Air Force fighters. The Eurofighters flew over the runway together with the RoAF MiG-21s showing how the two Allies are working together to protect the nation and performed a two-ship power demo and a Close Air Support activity.

In addition, RoAF showed an epic LanceR solo display, the IAR-330 helicopters and the "new" F-16 combat jets. One of the three Pumas was in the updated variant, still under development, which boasts new sensors and avionics.

The air show also included several civilian planes from the home-based Romanian Aeroclub that performed great aerobatic figures or adrenaline-pumping maneuvers, much appreciated by the crowd.




















Written by Matteo Sanzani
Images: Kiril Todorov