Romania has shot down a second drone that illegally entered its national airspace, with the Romanian Ministry of Defence confirming that the target was destroyed by the same F-16 pilot who neutralised another drone over Buzău County on Friday.
The latest incursion occurred on Saturday morning, July 25, near Romania’s border with Ukraine. Military radar systems detected the unidentified drone at 8:22 a.m. while it was flying in the border region.
Two Romanian Air Force F-16 Fighting Falcon aircraft, operating under the country’s Air Policing service, were sent to intercept the target. The drone was identified and destroyed at approximately 8:30 a.m., around ten kilometres west of Sfântu Gheorghe, in the Danube Delta.
The Romanian Defence Ministry said the engagement was conducted safely above an unpopulated area near the border, without endangering civilians or property. No casualties or material damage have been reported.
Defence Ministry teams are being deployed to the impact area to locate and recover the wreckage. Investigators will attempt to establish the drone’s model, origin, flight route and possible mission.
The Ministry has not yet publicly confirmed whether the second drone was Russian or whether it was carrying explosives.
Residents of Tulcea County received a RO-Alert warning during the military operation, informing them that objects could fall from the airspace and advising them to remain calm and seek shelter.
Same Romanian Pilot Carried Out Both Interceptions
The Ministry of Defence subsequently confirmed that the drone was destroyed by the same Romanian F-16 pilot who shot down the aircraft that crossed Romania on Friday.
The pilot has therefore successfully neutralised two drones violating NATO airspace in less than 24 hours.
Friday’s incident began when Romanian radar systems detected a drone east of Sulina, near the Black Sea coast. Romanian F-16 aircraft and Italian Eurofighter Typhoons deployed in Romania under NATO’s Air Policing mission were scrambled to intercept it.
An Italian Eurofighter reportedly launched a missile at the drone but failed to hit the target. A Romanian F-16 later engaged the aircraft with an air-to-air missile and destroyed it over an uninhabited area near Padina, in Buzău County.
Fragments believed to belong to the drone were subsequently discovered in a wheat field. No people were injured, and no buildings or infrastructure were damaged.
Romanian military officials said the aircraft visually resembled a Shahed-type attack drone. Prosecutors investigating the recovered wreckage later described it as a Shahed-type drone, although the complete investigation into its origin remains ongoing.
The Romanian Defence Ministry also rejected reports that the drone had flown over or close to Romanian military bases.
Second Drone Destroyed Near the Ukrainian Border
Saturday’s interception took place considerably closer to the Romanian-Ukrainian border than Friday’s engagement.
The drone was detected, intercepted and neutralised within approximately eight minutes, indicating a rapid response from Romania’s radar surveillance and Air Policing forces.
The Romanian Ministry of Defence said it continues to monitor the country’s airspace and remains in close contact with allied NATO structures. Further information is expected after military investigators examine the crash site and analyse the recovered debris.
The two incidents represent the first confirmed occasions on which Romania has used fighter aircraft to destroy drones violating its national airspace after repeated incursions linked to attacks against Ukrainian infrastructure near the Danube and the Black Sea.
Romania, a NATO and European Union member, shares a border of more than 600 kilometres with Ukraine and has repeatedly detected drones or recovered drone fragments on its territory since Russia began targeting Ukrainian ports along the Danube.
The consecutive interceptions mark a significant change in Romania’s response to unauthorised drone incursions and demonstrate that Romanian pilots now have both the legal authority and the operational capability to engage airborne targets considered a threat to national territory.
