Romania has scrambled four F-16 fighter jets and an IAR-330 SOCAT military helicopter after two drones entered the country's airspace without permission on the evening of October 31. The military response was taken to monitor and manage the situation.
“Two drones entered Romania's airspace without permission“, the Romanian Ministry of Defense announced. According to the ministry, one of the drones left the country's airspace, while the second was last seen in the area between Vaslui and Bacău counties. There are no reports of a downed drone.
Warnings in six counties
The public alert system has been activated due to the drones' entry. Warnings of a potential air threat have been issued to residents of Iași, Neamț, Vaslui, Botoșani, Bacău and Suceava.
The incident occurred in northeastern Romania, near Moldova and Ukraine. The movement data of the second drone do not provide information on whether it left the country, was lost from radar or crashed. There is currently no confirmation of a downed drone or any damage caused.
Similar incident in Moldova
On the same day, a drone also violated Moldovan airspace during massive airstrikes against targets in Ukraine. The incident is the latest in the region since the war in Ukraine has increased the risk of drones entering neighboring countries.
On October 23, the Moldovan Foreign Ministry condemned a drone violation of the country's air sovereignty and blamed Russia for it. Tensions between Chisinau and Moscow also increased after the discovery of a downed drone in the village of Chistelnitsa, just 100 meters from a residential building. In response, Moldova declared a Russian embassy employee persona non grata.
Against this backdrop, Romania and Moldova are holding talks to jointly develop specialized programs to combat drones. The new incident shows that air security on the eastern flank of the region remains directly affected by the fighting in Ukraine.
Sources: focus-news.net, digi24.ro, tvrinfo.ro