Viorel Pană (born 1967) is a general of the Romanian Air Force who served as the Air Force Chief of Staff between 2017 and 2023. Pană started his military career in 1985 after graduating from the Dimitrie Cantemir Military High School in Breaza. From 1989 he flew as a fighter pilot on MiG-21 fighters, eventually transitioning to transport aircraft in 1992.[1]
He continued his service as a fighter pilot until 1992, when he transferred to flying transport aircraft at the 90th Airlift Base, starting with the An-24, then continuing with the C-130 and C-27J. After graduating from the Carol I National Defence University in 2007, he returned to the base, becoming commander of the C-130 Hercules squadron. From 2011, he became deputy commander of the base (at that time the 90th Air Flotilla), and from 2014 becoming its commander. In 2010, he obtained the title of doctor in Military Sciences and Intelligence from the Carol I National Defence University.[1]
During his career as a pilot, Pană logged over 3,000 flight hours, also serving as a C-130 and C-27J instructor. He participated in more than 200 missions in operation theaters in Irak, Afghanistan, Bosnia–Herzegovina, and Kosovo,[2] as well as in participating and leading missions in-country and abroad in Libya, Montenegro, China, and Mali.[1] On one such mission in Afghanistan having to command a C-130 with engine problems during a night flight from Kabul.[3]
He was named Air Force Chief of Staff on 11 October 2017, succeeding Major General Laurian Anastasof.[4]
On 30 November 2023, Gen. Pană went into reserve, being succeeded as Chief of Staff by Major general Leonard Baraboi.[5][6]
