A Spanish F-18 fighter jet pilot, deployed as part of a NATO air-policing mission, shot down a small unmanned aircraft that had illegally entered Romanian airspace, marking the fourth such aircraft Romania has shot down this year, according to Romania’s Ministry of Defence on Sunday.
Romania, a NATO member, shares a 614-kilometer land border with Ukraine. Over the past four years, Russian drones have repeatedly entered its airspace, while missiles have also been deployed over the Black Sea, a key route for international trade.
Romania’s Ministry of Defence did not disclose the origin of the drone, but said radar systems detected it entering Romanian airspace from Moldova, about 24 kilometers north of the southeastern city of Galați.
The ministry said, “The F-18 aircraft detected it on radar and was authorized to engage. The unmanned aircraft was shot down and brought down without causing any damage.”
The ministry added that the drone’s debris appeared to have fallen in an uninhabited area between two villages.
In July, Romanian F-16 fighter pilots shot down three Russian drones that had entered the country’s airspace.
It was the first time Romania had shot down such aircraft, after drones had repeatedly entered its airspace during the more than four years since Russia launched its war against Ukraine.
Earlier this year, a Russian drone crashed into a residential building in Galați during a nighttime Russian attack on neighboring Ukraine, injuring two people.
