July 26, 2026, 11:59July 26, 2026, 11:59
A Romanian F-16. (archive image) Image: keystone
The Romanian Air Force has shot down more foreign drones in its own airspace. After the pilot of a Romanian F-16 fighter jet eliminated such an aircraft with a missile in the east of the country on Friday, there were further shootings of drones that had invaded Romanian territory on Saturday and Sunday morning. The Romanian Ministry of Defense announced this on its website. The first signs point to a Russian origin of the flying objects.
In all cases, the missions took place over uninhabited areas, so that there was no danger to the population on the ground, the ministry said in a statement. On Saturday, a foreign drone was shot down in Sfantu Gheorghe (Tulcea district), and on Sunday morning another one was shot down near the border town of Sulina in the Danube Delta.
The authorities have not yet provided any clear information about the origin of the aircraft. The drone shot down on Friday was of the Shahed type, the Romanian public prosecutor’s office said after examining the debris. Only Russia uses this type of drone in the wider region.
Romania has a border of around 600 kilometers with Ukraine, which is attacked by Russia. In the past, several dozen Russian drones had entered Romanian airspace. In order to be able to shoot them down, Bucharest only created the legal basis last year. The elimination of the drone on Friday near Padina (Buzau district) was the first shoot down of its kind carried out by the Romanian Air Force in its own territory. (sda/dpa)