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Mission Aigle
Mission Aigle
Mission Aigle
	Badge of Mission Aigle
Active	28 February 2022 – present
Allegiance	NATO
Type	Army
Size	1,500+
Part of	NATO Enhanced Forward Presence

The Mission Aigle is a French-led military mission deployed to Romania following the activation of the Graduated Response Plans by the Supreme Allied Commander Europe as a response to the Russian Invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Following this decision, France sent troops to Romania on 28 February 2022 in order to strengthen the Alliance's deterrent and defensive posture against Russia.^[1]

History

On 28 February 2022, France deployed a spearhead battalion of the rapid response force to Romania.^[1] On 1 May 2022, the multinational battalion constituted the Battle Group Forward Presence (BGFP) in Romania, with France as the lead nation.^[2] For the first time, France assumed the role of leading nation in a NATO reassurance mission.^[3] The BGFP is a multinational battalion tasked with reinforcing the operational capabilities of the deployed troops.^[2] Currently, the Multinational Battlegroup is under the command of the Multinational Division South-East based in Bucharest.^[4]

To house the battlegroup, a new military base was constructed in Cincu. The base consists of hangars, ammunition depots, as well as, auxiliary buildings for civilian purposes. The military town was constructed by a multinational detachment of engineers, and the costs were covered by France and Romania with construction materials acquired from Romania.^[5] It was reported in November that the French soldiers were living in "deplorable" conditions with insufficient food, poor hygiene, and bad heating.^[6] These reports were dismissed by the French embassy in Romania as no formal complaints regarding the conditions at the base were received. While living conditions were rudimentary during the construction works, these improved significantly once the base was completed.^[7] The soldiers have access to hot water, electricity, internet connection and live in small heated rooms in groups of three or four.^[8]

On 18 October, French Leclercs of the 7th Armored Brigade departed for Romania.^[9] The tanks arrived in Voila on 16 November.^[10] On 6 December, the tanks took part in the first live fire exercise at the Cincu Training Center during exercise Eagle Zori.^[11]

In 2025, the Multinational Battlegroup will increase its size to a brigade level. The number of soldiers will reach 4,000 with the brigade being ready for the Dacian Spring exercise, around May 2025.^[12]

Name and symbol

Aigle means "Eagle" in French. It was chosen as a reference to the Romanian coat of arms. The four flags illustrate the engagement of forces from France, Belgium and the Netherlands in support of Romania.^[13]

Strength

As of June 2024, the multinational force in Romania is made up of more than 1,500 soldiers, organized in the following units:^[4]

Multinational Battlegroup in Cincu and Mihail Kogalniceanu
Medium-range surface-to-air defence detachment (Détachement sol-air moyenne portée - SAMP) MAMBA, in Capu Midia
National support echelon (Échelon de soutien national - ESN), in Cincu and Mihail Kogalniceanu
Senior National Representative (SNR) and the Brigade Forward Command Element (BFCE) in Bucharest

Participating in the mission are forces from France, Belgium and the Netherlands.^[13] From 21 March 2023, Luxembourg also joined the Aigle mission.^[14]

Multinational Battlegroup

The Multinational Battlegroup consists of more than 1,500 soldiers, of which 300 Belgian and 30 Luxembourgish soldiers, and is commanded by Colonel Louis-Marie Levacher.^[15] The French troops are headquartered at Camp Général Berthelot, formerly "Cherry Hill", named in honor of General Henri Mathias Berthelot. The battlegroup is equipped with the following:^[15]^[16]

Model	Number
Leclerc tank	13
Char de dépannage DNG/DCL	2
VBCI	19
Véhicule de l'Avant Blindé	40
Petit Véhicule Protégé	24
Véhicule Blindé Léger	36
ACMAT VT4 [fr]	37
CAESAR^[17]	4
Lance Roquette Unitaire^[18]	3
120mm mortar	4
MILAN	N/A
Mistral	N/A
Transport trucks	10+

MAMBA system

From 6 May, at the request of the Romanian authorities and NATO, the French forces deployed the MAMBA ground-to-air defence system at the Capu Midia base. The system is composed of several interconnected modules. Each launch unit can salvo fire up to eight ASTER 30 missiles. To increase the efficiency, the system is connected and integrated via a tactical data link to the Romanian, and NATO defense systems, which command it. Following a test phase, the MAMBA system was certified and is now fully integrated in the NATO Integrated Air Missile Defence (IAMD).^[19]

Gallery

T-55 tanks of the Romanian 814th tank battalion and French Leclercs in Turda
Romanian HIMARS and a French LRU firing during exercise Eagle Royal at Capu Midia
Combined training for Romanian, Portuguese and French soldiers, exercise Eagle Black
CAESAR artillery system
Leclerc tank firing during exercise Eagle Fulger