Romania shoots down drone breaching its airspace

Romania successfully shot down a drone that had entered its airspace on Friday, marking a significant first since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine by Russia. The incident occurred approximately 114 kilometers (70 miles) southeast of the capital, Bucharest.

President Nicușor Dan confirmed the event during a press conference, stating, "We had a drone in our airspace. It was shot down a few minutes ago, around 11 am by a Romanian pilot flying an F-16." He emphasized that the area where the drone was intercepted was uninhabited, allowing the pilot to engage the target safely.

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We had a drone in our airspace. It was shot down a few minutes ago, around 11am by a Romanian pilot flying an F-16.

Surveillance systems first detected an unidentified aerial target at 9:39 am local time. Two Italian Eurofighter Typhoons and two Romanian F-16 fighter jets were scrambled to monitor the situation. At 11:02 am, a Romanian F-16 engaged and successfully downed the drone over the village of Padina, according to the defense ministry.

Although Romania, a NATO member bordering Ukraine, has detected numerous drone incursions since the conflict began, this marks the first successful interception by its own forces. Previous incidents included a drone that crashed into an apartment building in May, injuring two people and drawing condemnation from NATO and the EU.

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It's important to note that the area was uninhabited, which is why the pilot was able to fire from above, and now teams from various institutions are investigating to provide all the details about the incident.