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For a third day in a row, Romanian Air Force F-16 Fighting Falcons were scrambled in response to another incursion into Romania’s national airspace. Once again, the country’s fighters logged yet another shoot-down-their third in as many days. The incident has already moved into the diplomatic arena, after Bucharest’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs summoned the head of the Russian embassy in Romania to raise complaints.
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The latest kill credited to Romania’s F-16s took place on Sunday, 26 July, after the Romanian Armed Forces’ surveillance system detected an aerial contact roughly 25 km south-east of Sulina. The appearance of this unmanned aerial vehicle followed fresh Russian strikes against civilian targets and Ukrainian infrastructure, close to the river border with Romania.
F-16 in action
After the Russian drone was detected, two Romanian Air Force F-16 Fighting Falcons from the 86th Air Base at Borcea took off as part of the quick reaction alert force to establish contact and keep the track under observation. Just over 30 minutes later, the unmanned aircraft crossed into Romanian airspace and, five minutes after that, one of the F-16s shot it down.
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“…The drone entered national airspace at 10:08, and five minutes later, at 10:13, one of the two F-16s flying in the area engaged the aerial target with a missile and shot it down over the Black Sea-within Romanian territorial waters-12 km north-east of Sulina…”, Romania’s Ministry of Defence stated. This marked the 3rd drone downed by Romanian F-16s in 3 consecutive days.
Once the shoot-down was confirmed, the Romanian Coast Guard dispatched two units to search for debris from the downed drone for identification and analysis.
Authorities confirm the identity of the 1st drone shot down
Romania’s Ministry of Defence also reported a positive identification for the 1st drone brought down on 24 July. Based on the investigation led by the Prosecutor’s Office attached to the Ploiești Court of Appeal, it was concluded to be a Shahed-type drone used by Russia’s armed forces. As for the other shoot-downs, which are being handled by the Prosecutor’s Office attached to the Constanța Court of Appeal, the authorities are still awaiting the recovery of their remains.
The string of Russian drone incursions into Romanian airspace also drew sharp criticism from the Romanian government. Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan described the airspace violations as “unacceptable”, while Romania’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs formally raised its objections and demanded explanations from the Russian ambassador.
On constant alert
Yesterday morning, Romanian Air Force F-16s were again placed on alert after Romania’s integrated surveillance system detected another intrusion by an unidentified drone.
On this occasion, two F-16 Fighting Falcons from the 86th Air Base at Fetești took off at 08:53 to monitor developments, the Ministry of Defence reported. “…The target briefly entered national airspace, after which it crossed the river border into Ukraine. Explosions were later reported on Ukrainian territory…”, the report concluded.
Illustrative cover image. Credit: Romania’s Ministry of Defence
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