Early this morning, a Spanish F-18 fighter jet, carrying out a NATO air policing mission, shot down an unidentified unmanned aerial vehicle that had illegally entered Romania.
The incident occurred near the southeastern Romanian city of Galati.
How did the air operation develop?
Romanian radar systems detected the intruder at exactly 04:44. Radars detected the drone crossing the border and entering from the territory of neighboring Moldova, moving about 24 kilometers north of the city of Galati.
Two Spanish F-18 fighter jets, based at the Romanian Mihail Cogalnicanu air base, were immediately activated to intercept the target. As reported by the Romanian Ministry of National Defense (MApN), the military pilot established stable radar contact with the air target and received official permission to fire the weapon. At 05:01, the drone was successfully and safely shot down.
The airstrike alert for Galati County was lifted at 05:20, after the threat was eliminated.
Where did the debris fall and is there any damage?
According to initial data from the Romanian authorities, the debris from the destroyed drone fell in a completely uninhabited area between the villages of Beleni and Cudalbi. There are currently no reports of civilian casualties or material damage to buildings and infrastructure.
The Romanian Ministry of Defense and international agencies such as Reuters (hхtps://www.reuters.com) and BTA (hхtps://www.bta.bg) explicitly emphasizes that the official authorities have not yet specified the origin of the downed aircraft. The interim Minister of Defense of Romania, Radu Miruca, expressed special gratitude to the Spanish pilots and the Romanian military for the lightning-fast reaction. He emphasized that the country is on the front line in the defense of the European Union and NATO.
Another incident on NATO's eastern flank
This is the fourth unmanned aerial vehicle to be shot down over Romanian territory since the beginning of this year. Just days ago, on August 13, Romanian authorities issued three consecutive air threat warnings (RO-Alert) in Tulcea due to Russian attacks on the Ukrainian port of Izmail, which necessitated the urgent raising of Spanish F-18s on alert.
Our northern neighbor shares a 614-kilometer land border with Ukraine. Since the beginning of the Russian invasion in 2022, Romania's airspace has been regularly violated by debris and combat drones, and floating mines continue to be discovered in the Black Sea along major trade routes.