BUCHAREST, Oct 27 (Reuters) - France has temporarily relocated a maritime patrol aircraft to Romania to help identify navigation dangers and bolster the protection of critical energy infrastructure in the Black Sea, Romania's defence ministry said on Tuesday.
At least eight cargo ships have been hit near the coast of NATO members Romania and Bulgaria in the past three weeks, with some 34 sailors reported dead or missing.
Romanian F-16 fighter jet pilots shot down two of the latest generation of Russian drones over Romanian territorial waters earlier this month, and NATO said it will send more maritime patrol aircraft, radar systems and drones to the Black Sea.
• France relocated its Atlantique 2 maritime patrol aircraft to the Mihail Kogalniceanu air base in Romania on October 18. It will conduct surveillance missions over the western part of the Black Sea until November 6
• The purpose is "to identify dangers to navigation and increase the ability to protect critical infrastructure in Romania's exclusive economic zone", the ministry said
• Romania's defence ministry said the response from NATO and the French Navy added to measures enforced by Romanian naval forces including increased maritime patrol missions with ships, helicopters and drones
• Romanian naval forces are also continuously updating navigators about dangers and recommended routes, the ministry said
(Reporting by Luiza Ilie; Editing by Hugh Lawson)