In 2026, six drones have been shot down so far that entered Romanian airspace, and another 44 drones or their debris have been found and neutralized on Romanian territory, National Defense Minister Radu Miruca announced, quoted by the Agerpres agency, BTA reported.
On Saturday, Romania announced that it had shot down two drones over the Black Sea amid increased attacks on merchant ships in the region, which are seen as a consequence of the war in Ukraine.
At a press conference in the city of Targu Jiu yesterday, the Defense Minister announced that according to the ministry's data, 97 attacks were registered near the border in 2026, 77 times in response fighter jets were scrambled, 35 unauthorized airspace incursions were detected, six drones were shot down, and 44 drones or their debris were found, recovered and neutralized. Two sea mines drifting in the exclusive economic zone or washed ashore were also neutralized.
The latest incident related to the war in Ukraine was recorded on Saturday evening, when Romanian military pilots attacked and shot down two aerial drones over the Black Sea, Agerpres recalls.
The Ministry of National Defense announced that the targets neutralized on Saturday in the national airspace were attack drones “Geran-4“ of Russian origin, powered by a jet engine.
The defense minister noted that the drones were shot down over an interval of four and a half minutes, almost immediately after they entered Romanian airspace. The minister specified that this is the first time Romania has shot down this model of drone, which “has a range of 800-900 kilometers and flies almost at the speed of a fighter jet“.