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Romanian Air Force F-16 Fighting Falcon fighters have been scrambled again in response to another breach of national airspace, shooting down a further drone and taking the tally to three successful intercepts in just three days. The run of incidents-linked to recent Russian strikes against targets in Ukraine near the Romanian border-has also prompted a diplomatic response from Bucharest, which lodged formal protests with Russia’s ambassador in the country.
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Third shoot-down in three days
The latest incident took place on Sunday, 26 July, when Romania’s Armed Forces surveillance systems detected an aerial target roughly 25 kilometres south-east of the city of Sulina. The sighting came shortly after a fresh Russian attack on Ukrainian infrastructure and civilian areas close to the river border between the two countries.
In response, two F-16 Fighting Falcon aircraft from the 86th Air Base at Borcea were launched under the Romanian Air Force’s quick-reaction posture to identify and track the target.
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After just over half an hour of monitoring, the unmanned aerial vehicle crossed the frontier and entered Romanian airspace. Five minutes later, one of the F-16s fired a missile that destroyed the drone over the Black Sea, within Romania’s territorial waters.
Romania’s Ministry of Defence stated: “…The drone entered national airspace at 10:08 and, five minutes later, at 10:13, one of the two F-16s patrolling the area engaged the target with a missile, shooting it down over the Black Sea, within Romanian territorial waters, 12 kilometres north-east of Sulina…”. With this event, the Romanian Air Force recorded its third consecutive drone shoot-down since the start of the current sequence of incursions.
Following the engagement, the Coastguard deployed two vessels to locate and recover debris, which will be examined to confirm the equipment’s origin and characteristics.
The first drone shot down was identified as a Shahed
The Ministry of Defence also confirmed the outcome of the investigation into the first drone destroyed, on 24 July. According to the Prosecutor’s Office attached to the Ploiești Court of Appeal, the wreckage belongs to a Shahed-type drone used by Russia’s Armed Forces.
Enquiries into the other two drones that were shot down remain under the responsibility of the Prosecutor’s Office attached to the Constanța Court of Appeal, which is still awaiting the recovery of debris in order to complete identification.
The string of Romanian airspace violations has drawn a strong response from the country’s authorities. Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan described the episodes as “unacceptable”, while the Ministry of Foreign Affairs summoned the Russian ambassador to deliver formal protests and demand explanations over the incidents.
F-16s remain on alert
Romanian Air Force operations continued into the following morning. After the integrated surveillance system detected another incursion by an unidentified drone, two more F-16 Fighting Falcons-this time from the 86th Air Base at Fetești-took off at 8:53 to monitor developments.
According to Romania’s Ministry of Defence, the target stayed inside national airspace only briefly before turning back towards Ukraine. “…The target briefly entered national airspace and then crossed the river border again towards Ukraine. Subsequently, explosions were recorded on Ukrainian territory…”, the ministry reported.
Although this latest event did not lead to another shoot-down, it underlines that the Romanian Air Force is keeping its fighters at constant readiness amid repeated flights by Russian drones near the border, as attacks against Ukrainian territory continue.
Cover image for illustrative purposes only. Credit: Romanian Ministry of Defence.
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