An unidentified drone in the skies over Romania shot down a Spanish F-18
On the night of August 16, a Spanish F-18 fighter jet shot down an unidentified drone that had entered Romanian airspace. The aircraft was conducting an air patrol as part of a NATO mission.
According to the Romanian Ministry of Defense, at 4:44 a.m., surveillance systems detected an air target intruding from the Republic of Moldova. The drone was located approximately 24 km north of Galați.
A Spanish F-18 fighter jet from the Spanish Air Force and Space Force, which was stationed at the 57th “Mihail Kogalniceanu” Air Base and was conducting air policing operations, established radar contact with the target.
After receiving authorization to use force, the fighter jet shot down the drone at 05:01.
“On the night of August 15–16, at 04:44, the Ministry of National Defense’s surveillance systems detected an airborne target intruding into the country’s airspace from the direction of the Republic of Moldova, approximately 24 km north of Galați. An F-18 aircraft of the Spanish Air Force and Space Forces, which is performing air policing duties at the 57th “Mihail Kogălniceanu” Air Base and operating in surveillance mode, established radar contact with the target and received authorization to use force. The drone was safely shot down by the F-18 at 05:01,” according to a statement from the Romanian Ministry of Defense.
The preliminary crash site of the drone’s debris has been identified between the towns of Baleni and Kudalbi in Galați County.
According to the Romanian Ministry of Defense, the debris may have fallen in an uninhabited area, so there is currently no threat to the population.
The day before, Romanian military divers destroyed two Gerbera-type drones that were drifting in the Black Sea within Romania’s exclusive economic zone.
The drones were detected approximately 165 km from Constanța, near the Neptun Deep gas project.
The Romanian military is currently investigating the circumstances of the airspace violation and the origin of the downed drone.
This was reported by the Romanian Ministry of National Defense.
The drone, which was shot down by a Spanish F-18 fighter jet in Romanian airspace, was likely of Russian origin.
As a reminder, on Sunday, August 2, air raid sirens were sounded for the civilian population in eastern Romania for the second time that day. The country’s Ministry of Defense radar surveillance system detected an aerial target near the river border with Ukraine at 3:09 p.m.
