A Spanish F-18 fighter jet patrolling Romanian airspace shot down an unidentified drone that entered from Moldova early Sunday morning, Aug. 16, Romania’s Defense Ministry reported.
Radar systems detected the target at approximately 4:44 a.m. local time, about 24 kilometers north of the city of Galați. The Spanish F-18, operating from the 57th Mihail Kogălniceanu Air Base on a combat patrol mission, established radar contact and received clearance to engage the target.
The fighter downed the drone at 5:01 a.m. over an unpopulated area between the villages of Băleni and Cudalbi in Galați County. The local air raid alert was subsequently lifted at 5:20 a.m.
Acting Defense Minister Radu Miruță praised the Spanish pilots and Romanian military personnel following the incident.
“Romania defends its airspace, and our allies stand with us,” Miruță stated on Facebook. “Vigilance, rapid reaction, and allied solidarity are the concrete guarantees of our security.”
This marks the fourth instance of an intruding drone being shot down over Romania.
US Colonel Martin O’Donnell, a spokesperson for the Headquarters of the Supreme Allied Commander Europe, stated that the drone shot down in Romania on Sunday is likely of Russian origin.
According to Reuters, O’Donnell said that the Alliance remains on high alert and is ready to defend itself against any threat.
“Further details regarding Sunday’s incident are still under investigation, but it appears the drone is Russian,” the NATO spokesperson said.
The Romanian Ministry of Defense did not specify the drone’s origin, stating that it was detected by radar as it entered the country from neighboring Moldova, 24 km north of the southeastern city of Galați.
Romania, which shares a 614-km land border with Ukraine, has reported repeated violations of its airspace by Russian drones over the past four years, as well as floating mines in the Black Sea along key trade and energy routes.
Recent drone incidents in Romania
The interception follows the discovery of drone fragments in four separate locations within a 24-hour period on Friday, Aug. 14.
The Defense Ministry reported finding wreckage near the Ukrainian border in the villages of Plauru and Luncavița in Tulcea County. Additional fragments were located on the beaches of the Saturn and Costinești resorts on the Black Sea coast.
Earlier in the week, on Aug. 11, Romanian military divers conducted controlled explosions to destroy two drifting Russian-produced Gerbera drones in the Black Sea.
The objects were located approximately 167 kilometers (104 miles) east of Constanța, near the Neptun Deep offshore gas project, prompting their destruction due to the hazard posed to maritime traffic and energy operations.
Romanian authorities report that drones have violated the country’s airspace more than 30 times since strikes on Ukrainian Danube River ports began. In late July, Romanian F-16 fighter jets intercepted and shot down incoming targets on three separate occasions.