Key facts
- A Romanian F-16 fighter jet shot down a drone over Romania on Friday.
- The drone entered Romanian airspace and was intercepted in an unpopulated area.
- Two Romanian F-16 jets and two Italian Eurofighter Typhoons were scrambled in response.
- Fragments of the drone fell on a wheat field without causing damage or injuries.
- An investigation is underway to determine the drone's origin.
A Romanian F-16 fighter jet shot down a drone that had entered its airspace on Friday, President Nicusor Dan announced. The incident, the first of its kind for the NATO member, occurred around 11 a.m. local time in an unpopulated area near Padina in Buzau County. Fragments of the drone fell on a wheat field but caused no damage or injuries.
The drone was initially detected by radar at 9:30 a.m. about 20 kilometers east of Sulina on the Black Sea coast and was tracked moving inland. In response, two Romanian F-16 jets and two Italian Eurofighter Typhoons based in Romania were scrambled. An investigation is underway to determine the drone's origin, with an army source suggesting Russia as the likely attacker, citing similar incursions in Poland and the Baltic states.
Romania shares a significant border with Ukraine and has reported multiple airspace breaches by Russian drones since Moscow began attacking Ukrainian ports across the Danube River. Previously, a drone crashed into a residential building in Galati in late May, injuring two people, marking the first time a strike hit a populated area in a NATO country during the Ukraine war.