Romanian F-16s Shoot Down Two Drones That Entered the Country’s Airspace

Two Romanian F-16 fighter jets shot down two suspected Russian drones that entered Romanian airspace over the country’s territorial waters.

Romania’s Ministry of National Defense confirmed the interception.

According to the ministry, the fighter jets took off from the 86th Air Base in Borcea at 5:43 p.m. local time on Saturday, October 17, after radar systems detected several aerial targets about 120 kilometers east of Snake Island. The targets were heading southwest.

At 5:59 p.m., the first drone entered Romanian airspace. It was shot down by an F-16 fighter jet at 6:01 p.m. The second drone entered Romanian airspace at 6:01 p.m. and was shot down by another F-16 fighter jet at 6:05 p.m.

The ministry stated that both aerial targets were identified as drones and shot down over Romania’s territorial waters.

Possible Origin of the Drones

Romania’s Ministry of National Defense did not disclose the origin or type of the downed drones. However, the information released allows for a preliminary analysis of their flight path.

The drones were detected approximately 120 kilometers east of Snake Island. According to the estimates provided, they were about 65 kilometers from the coast of temporarily occupied Crimea and about 140 kilometers from the Ukrainian-controlled coastline.

In addition, the drones were heading southwest, from Crimea toward the Romanian coast. This trajectory may indicate that the drones were of Russian origin.

On October 14, an unidentified drone attacked the Comoros-flagged tanker YARA J in Romanian territorial waters, marking the first such attack on the territory of a NATO member state.

The following day, a drone attack sparked a fire aboard the San Marino-flagged vessel Wine Trader, which was also in Romanian territorial waters. On October 6 and 13, drones attacked four merchant vessels in Bulgaria’s exclusive economic zone.

Following the incidents, Bulgaria, Romania, and Türkiye called on NATO to strengthen security in the Black Sea region and provide additional counter-drone capabilities.

Romania also proposed establishing a joint military command for NATO member states in the Black Sea region to counter drones. Under the proposal, participating countries would lead the new command on a rotating basis. Bucharest has expressed its readiness to become the first country to lead the command, starting in 2028.