BUCHAREST, Aug 16 - Romania's defence ministry reported on Sunday that a Spanish F-18 fighter jet, operating as part of a NATO air policing mission, destroyed an unmanned aircraft that had illegally entered Romanian airspace. The ministry said this marks the fourth drone that Romanian authorities have shot down so far this year.
According to the ministry, radar systems detected the drone as it crossed into Romanian territory from neighbouring Moldova, at a point approximately 24 km (15 miles) north of the southeastern city of Galati. The ministry did not identify the drone's origin.
In an official statement, the ministry said the F-18 jet "made radar contact with the target and received permission to engage it." "The drone was shot down safely at 05:01 am," the statement added.
Fragments from the destroyed unmanned aircraft appear to have fallen in an uninhabited area between two villages, the ministry said.
Romania shares a 614-km (382-mile) land border with Ukraine and has experienced repeated incursions by Russian drones over the past four years, the ministry noted. The country has also reported floating mines in the Black Sea affecting key trade and energy routes.
Earlier developments this year include a July incident in which Romanian F-16 fighter pilots intercepted and shot down three Russian drones that had breached national airspace. Those shootdowns were the first time Romanian pilots had downed such aircraft after dozens of prior incursions over more than four years of Moscow's invasion of Ukraine.
Separately, the ministry recalled an incident earlier in the year in which a Russian drone crashed into an apartment block in the city of Galati during an overnight attack on neighbouring Ukraine, injuring two people.
The defence ministry did not provide further operational details or attribute responsibility for the most recent drone to a specific actor. Officials limited their account to radar detections, the engagement authorization, the reported time of interception and the location where fragments were found.
Context and implications
The interception highlights ongoing airspace security challenges along Romania's border with Ukraine and in the wider Black Sea region. The defence ministry's account focused on detection, engagement and the physical aftermath of the shootdown, without offering additional assessment of intent or provenance.