Spanish Hornet Shoots Down Drone Over Romania After It Entered From Moldova

On the night of August 16, a Spanish EF-18 fighter jet shot down a drone that had entered Romanian airspace from Moldova.

Romania’s Ministry of National Defence confirmed the incident.

The ministry’s surveillance systems detected the drone at 4:44 a.m., about 24 km (15 miles) north of the city of Galați.

A Spanish EF-18 fighter jet, deployed at Mihail Kogălniceanu Air Base as part of NATO’s air policing mission, established radar contact with the target and received authorization to engage it.

At 5:01 a.m., the fighter jet shot down the drone. Romania’s Ministry of National Defence said the aircraft destroyed the drone over an uninhabited area.

The possible crash site was identified between the villages of Băleni and Cudalbi in Galați County. The area is away from populated areas. Preliminary reports indicate that there were no casualties and no damage to infrastructure.

This is the fourth drone Romania has shot down in its airspace in 2026. On July 24, 25, and 26, Romanian F-16 fighter jets shot down three Russian drones after they entered Romanian airspace.

In addition, on May 19, 2026, a Romanian F-16 from the “Carpathian Vipers” unit shot down a drone in Estonian airspace. The drone had previously flown about 80 km into Estonian territory.

Spanish EF-18 Hornets in Romania

The handover ceremony took place on July 31, 2026, at Borcea Air Base, also known as Fetești Air Base.

Spain has deployed seven EF-18M Hornet fighter jets to Romania. The deployment also includes three NH-90 helicopters tasked with counter-drone operations and one A400M tanker aircraft for aerial refueling.

This is the fourth deployment of Spanish forces to Romania. Previous deployments took place in 2021, 2024, and February 2026.

The deployment is part of Spain’s national “Persistent Effort” operation and is expected to continue until December 2026.

The mission is formally classified not as traditional Air Policing, but as part of NATO’s broader Air Defence concept within the Integrated Air and Missile Defence (IAMD) system.