CONSTANTA, Romania — Hundreds of American and Romanian air force crews began two weeks of joint exercises Monday before the opening of a U.S. base near this Black Sea port.

The exercises, involving 300 Romanian and 200 U.S personnel, included 30 fighter planes from both air forces, officials said.

The U.S. is expected to take over the Mihail Kogalniceanu air base, near Constanta, later this summer, though no exact date has been announced.

Some 1,500 American troops will begin training at the base, which would be the first to be set up by Americans in a former Warsaw Pact country.

In December 2005, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice signed a 10-year agreement with Romania to open military bases in the country. The Kogalniceanu base was previously used by the U.S. during operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.

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