A Spanish F-18 fighter jet on a NATO mission shot down a drone that illegally entered Romanian airspace from Moldova, marking the fourth such incident this year. The drone's fragments fell in an uninhabited area.
The incident highlights the ongoing security risks and airspace violations in Eastern Europe due to the conflict in Ukraine, underscoring NATO's role in protecting member states' territories.
A Spanish F-18 fighter jet operating on a NATO air policing mission shot down a drone that had illegally entered Romanian national airspace, according to Romania's defence ministry. This incident marks the fourth unmanned aircraft the country has intercepted this year.
The drone was detected entering Romania from neighboring Moldova, approximately 24 km north of the southeastern city of Galati. The F-18 jet received permission to engage the target, and the drone was shot down safely at 05:01 am. Fragments of the drone reportedly fell in an uninhabited area between two villages.
Romania, a NATO member that shares a significant land border with Ukraine, has experienced numerous airspace violations by Russian drones over the past four years amid the ongoing conflict. In July, Romanian F-16 pilots shot down three Russian drones, the first such instances after many prior incursions. Earlier in the year, a Russian drone had crashed into an apartment building in Galati during an attack on neighboring Ukraine, resulting in two injuries.