10,000 people attended the military parade in Bucharest. 2,600 military and 360 arsenal devices marching

About 10,000 people, including many children, attended on Tuesday the military parade on Romania’s National Day held in the Constitutiei Square on Tuesday. Over 2,600 military and 350 devices were marching, displaying the Romanian army’s arsenal. Military brigades from Bulgaria, Poland, Republic of Moldova, USA and Turkey also joined the march of the Romanian squads.

The sky in Bucharest was overflown by tens of Air Forces’ aircrafts.

The Parade of 1st of December, Romania’s National Day, has started with the state anthem and 21 cannon salvos and the Guard presentation before officials — the salute of the fighting flag, reviewing the Guard of Honour and the Guard salute.

President Klaus Iohannis was in the official tribune, next to PM Dacian Cioloș, Interior and Defense ministers, Petre Tobă, Mihnea Motoc and Senate Speaker Călin Popescu Tăriceanu.

Former president Traian Băsescu was also present at the parade, coming together with his grand daughter, as well as his predecessors Ion Iliescu and Emil Constantinescu, Chamber Speaker Valeriu Zgonea, PSD chairman Liviu Dragnea, PNL co-president Alina Gorghiu, and war veterans, representatives of Army, Gendarmerie and members of the Diplomatic Corps accredited in Bucharest.

First parading block of the Romanian Army was represented by the detachment of the 26th Infantry Battalion “Neagoe” with 2nd Infantry Brigade “ROVINE”.

This year’s parade has included as a first a detachment of the wounded military in the missions outside Romania’s borders, in the Western Balkans, Iraq and Afghanistan.

Also a premiere was the parade of the newly founded detachment with the troops of the NATO Southeast Division Multinational Command (HQ MND-SE) in Bucharest, a structure that will ensure a visible, constant presence of the NATO in Romania.

Among the units of the Romanian Army parading were 2nd Infantry Battalion “Calugareni” and the 495th Infantry Battalion “Captain Stefan Soverth, both of 1 Mechanised Brigade “Argedava”, Mountain Troops Battalion 30 “Dragoslavele” of the 2nd Brigade Mountain Troops “SARMIZEGETUSA”, Military Intelligence Brigade “Marshal Alexandru Averescu”, 6th Special Operations Squad “Michael the Brave”, 265th Military Police Battalion, 1st Brigade Air-Ground Missile “General Nicolae Dascalescu”, whose mission is to air protect Bucharest City.
Military with the Navy shipboard and Marines from Battalion 307 Marines in Babadag, detachments of the Bucharest, Sibiu, Constanta, Pitesti and Breaza military tuition bodies also marched.

Land parade ended with two detachments that remind our people’s military traditions, the flags of vintage worn by young soldiers of the Guards Brigade 30 “Michael the Brave” and the Association of Military Tradition, military history reenactment group. The historical reenactment detachment wore the uniforms and ceremony equipment of the Border Guards, 1914 model, as well as campaign clothes, with the Infantry and Mountain Troops, 1916 model with the Romanian Royal Army.

The Military Air Block was opened by IAR — 330 PUMA helicopter which carried the national flag, followed by two formations of three same-type aircrafts from the 90th Airlift Base (Otopeni). A third flight formation was shaped with three IAR-330 PUMA SOCAT helicopters from the 95th Airlift Base (Bacau). The evolution of the helicopters was ended by the IAR — 330 PUMA Naval, with the Navy Helicopters Group.

There also evolved in the parade aircraft C-130 Hercules C-27J SPARTAN, IAR-99 and MiG-21 Lancer Falcon and the Acrobat IACARII three Romanian construction aircraft Yakovlev Yak-52.

The military technique exposed within the Parade also included five URO VAMTAC armoured vehicles, five troops transporters PIRANHA, the MLI 84 M “Jderul” armored infantry fighting vehicle, five B 33 Zimbru amphibious armored carriers, the TR 85 M 1 “Bizonul” tanks, the GEPARD armored antiaircraft artillery system, the LAROM artillery system, the “OERLIKON” air complex, the HMMWV combat vehicles, the CHEVROLET TAHOE road vehicles.

People attending the parade were not allowed this year on the lawns in front of the Parliament Palace, so the crowd stretched in Constitutiei Square and on the neighbouring streets. Security measures were also tougher this year, with people queuing to get to see the parade after passing through the police cordons.

Similar parades took place in Alba Iulia, Cluj-Napoca, Brașov, Iași or Craiova.