Drone explodes in Bulgarian airspace after entering from Romania

A drone entered Bulgarian airspace from Romania on Saturday and exploded near the village of Kardam, close to a gas pipeline, Bulgarian Prime Minister Rumen Radev announced. The incident occurred at 8:10 a.m. local time, with the drone detonating in a sunflower field near the Romanian border.

Fortunately, no injuries were reported, and no infrastructure damage has been confirmed. The explosion site is located approximately 1,000 meters from a Bulgarian compressor station, part of a gas pipeline running from Turkey to Ukraine. A Romanian compressor station for the same pipeline is situated just 200 meters away.

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Security will be strengthened at several strategic locations, and surveillance along the Bulgarian-Romanian border will be increased.

Prime Minister Radev stated that security would be strengthened at strategic locations, and surveillance along the Bulgarian-Romanian border would be increased. He also noted that the explosion site would be cordoned off for further investigation into the type of drone involved. The lack of detection by either Romanian or Bulgarian authorities underscores the ongoing challenges in tracking and identifying drones, Radev added.

The incident comes amid a backdrop of increased drone activity linked to the war in Ukraine, which has heightened security concerns among NATO members. Radev acknowledged delays in the delivery of high-precision radar systems to the Bulgarian army and pledged swift action to address the issue.

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Neither Romania nor Bulgaria detected the drone, which underlines that tracking and identifying drones remains a challenge.