NATO Fighter Jet Shoots Down Drone in Romanian Airspace

A Spanish F-18 fighter jet on a NATO air policing mission shot down a drone that illegally entered Romanian airspace on Sunday morning. The Romanian Ministry of Defense reported that the aircraft was detected entering the country from neighboring Moldova, approximately 24 kilometers north of the city of Galati. The jet made radar contact and received authorization to engage the target, shooting it down at 5:01 am. Fragments of the drone reportedly fell in an uninhabited area between two villages.

While the Romanian government did not specify the origin of this particular drone, several reports noted that Romania has experienced repeated airspace violations by Russian drones over the last four years. This incident marks the fourth drone shot down by Romania in 2026. Previous incursions include an event in July where Romanian F-16s shot down three Russian drones, and an earlier incident where a Russian drone crashed into a residential building in Galati, injuring two people.

Additional reports indicate a broader surge in drone activity along the border. According to the Romanian defense minister, radars detected more than one hundred drones near the country's airspace within a 96 hour period. This increase is attributed to intense Russian attacks on Ukrainian ports along the Danube. These events have led to the discovery of drone debris in the Danube Delta and on public beaches, prompting temporary closures of tourist areas. In response to these security challenges, Romania has signed military procurement contracts worth over 5.6 billion euros, including nearly one billion euros for anti drone and air defense systems from Rheinmetall.