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Romanian F-16 fighter jets shot down two drones over the Black Sea in the latest drone incident impacting the southeastern European nation, authorities said on Saturday.
Defence Minister Radu Miruta said the first drone had entered Romanian airspace at around 17:59 and was shot down “within two minutes,” 25 km south-east of the town of Sulina.
“The second drone, in the same area, was engaged and shot down at 18:05, five minutes after entering national airspace, 20 km east of Sulina,” Miruta said.
According to a Defence Ministry press release, two F-16s carrying out air policing missions were involved in the operation to intercept the drones after being scrambled from the 86th air base at Borcea, near the city of Fetești.
The aircraft were called into action after radar surveillance systems detected a number of aerial targets, per the ministry. It later announced that the targets were “jet-powered attack drones from the Geran family.”
“The Black Sea serves as a critical maritime artery for the global export of grain, energy resources, and industrial commodities, making its stability vital to international food and energy security,” Oana Toiu, Romania’s foreign minister, wrote on X, adding that NATO would discuss Black Sea “defence and deterrence” at an upcoming meeting.
“The Black Sea will be safe again,” she added.
Sitting on NATO’s eastern flank, Romania is particularly vulnerable to security threats stemming from Russia’s war in Ukraine, and the country has been dealing with a surge in drone-related incursions and incidents believed to be linked to the conflict in recent months.