A Spanish F-18 fighter jet operating on a NATO air policing mission shot down a drone that had entered Romanian national airspace from Moldova on Sunday morning, Romania's Defense Ministry announced. The drone was detected by radar approximately 24 kilometres north of the southeastern city of Galati and was shot down at 5:01 a.m. local time (0201 GMT), according to the ministry. It is the fourth unmanned aircraft to be shot down over Romania this year.
NATO F-18 shoots down drone over Romania in fourth such intercept this year
A Spanish F-18 fighter jet operating on a NATO air policing mission shot down a drone that had entered Romanian national airspace from Moldova on Sunday morning, Romania's Defense Ministry announced. The drone was detected by radar approximately 24 kilometres north of the southeastern city of Galati and was shot down at 5:01 a.m. local time (0201 GMT), according to the ministry. It is the fourth unmanned aircraft to be shot down over Romania this year.
Romania's Defense Ministry said the F-18 'made radar contact with the target and received permission to engage,' according to the Jerusalem Post. Fragments from the destroyed drone are reported to have fallen in an uninhabited area between two villages near the border with Ukraine, both sources confirm.
NATO spokesperson US Army Colonel Martin O'Donnell said the alliance remains on constant watch and is prepared to defend against any threat. 'Additional details regarding Sunday's incident remain under investigation, but the drone appears to be Russian,' he said, according to the Jerusalem Post. Romania's Defense Ministry did not specify the drone's origin.
According to CBS News, authorities have attributed similar incidents to electronic interference linked to the war in Russia, noting that in some cases the drones are Ukrainian and are reportedly 'hijacked' by Russian forces.
Romania, a NATO member, shares a 614-kilometre land border with Ukraine, according to the Jerusalem Post. Authorities have reported finding drone fragments on Romanian soil several times since 2023, following Russian attacks on Ukrainian ports along the Danube River, CBS News reports.
In July, Romanian F-16 pilots shot down three Russian drones breaching national airspace, which the Jerusalem Post describes as the first time Romanian jets had done so since Russia's invasion of Ukraine began. CBS News characterises the July incident as the first drone shootdown by Romania since Russia launched its invasion in 2022, describing that drone as having entered airspace about 60 miles from Bucharest.
In May, a Russian drone struck an apartment block in Galati during an overnight attack on neighboring Ukraine, injuring two people, according to the Jerusalem Post. CBS News notes that last week a separate drone entered Bulgarian airspace and exploded near an international gas pipeline shortly after crossing from Romania, an incident Ukraine denied responsibility for.
Where sources differ
- On the July incidents: the Jerusalem Post states Romanian F-16s shot down three drones in July, characterising that as the first time Romanian pilots had engaged drones. CBS News describes the July event as a single drone shot down about 60 miles from Bucharest, without specifying a number or location matching the Jerusalem Post's account. The two outlets' descriptions of the July event do not clearly align.
- On the drone's origin: NATO's spokesperson told the Jerusalem Post the drone 'appears to be Russian.' CBS News does not attribute the drone to Russia directly, instead noting that drones in such incidents are sometimes Ukrainian ones 'hijacked' by Russian forces, offering a broader contextual characterisation rather than a specific attribution.
- Russia has not been quoted or reported as responding to this specific incident in either source.
- Ukraine has not commented on this specific intercept in either source.
- The exact type or model of the drone has not been established by either source.
- It is not confirmed whether the drone was on a deliberate mission or was a stray resulting from electronic interference.
- The precise location where fragments fell has not been named beyond a general description of an uninhabited area between two villages.
- No casualties or damage have been confirmed or ruled out from the falling debris.
- The identity or affiliation of the Spanish NATO contingent deployed in Romania has not been further specified.
- The Jerusalem Post — original — by REUTERS
- CBS News
Read the original at The Jerusalem Post