Update 2: Defense minister Ionuț Moșteanu said that an unarmed drone was found on Tuesday in a locality in Vaslui County, Agerpres reported. Speaking during a visit to the Mihail Kogălniceanu Air Base, he mentioned that the drone likely matched the one Romanian fighter jets had attempted to intercept in the morning and confirmed that it went down on its own, without being shot down.

Update: Colonel Corneliu Pavel, Defense Ministry spokesperson, announced that radar systems no longer showed any aerial targets, prompting the suspension of Ro-Alert warnings in Tulcea and Vrancea counties at 10:00 and in Galați at 10:08, News.ro reported. According to him, the radar data indicated a single drone likely entered through northern Tulcea County, while signals detected over the other two counties appeared only intermittently. The incident marked the 13th unauthorized incursion of an unmanned aircraft into national territory.

Meanwhile, the neighbouring Republic of Moldova's Defense Ministry also said that its Army detected six drones crossing its airspace without authorization on Tuesday morning. "One of them crashed onto the roof of a house in the village of Cuhureștii de Jos, Florești district," reads the announcement.

Initial story: The Ministry of Defense (MApN) said the Romanian Air Force detected two drone incursions into national airspace on Tuesday morning, November 25, triggering the deployment of German and Romanian fighter jets and emergency alerts in two eastern counties, near the border with Ukraine.

According to the ministry, radar systems identified an aerial target approaching Romania’s airspace near Tulcea County, prompting the scramble of two German Eurofighter Typhoon aircraft from Mihail Kogălniceanu Air Base at 06:28. 

The drone crossed into Romania from the direction of Vylkove, Ukraine, and moved toward the Chilia Veche area in Tulcea. A Ro-Alert warning was issued to residents at 06:55.

The Eurofighter pilots later reported radar contact with the drone at 07:11, by which time it had re-entered Ukrainian airspace.

A second alert was triggered shortly afterward. At 07:37, two Romanian F-16 Fighting Falcon jets from Borcea Air Base were ordered into the air, and a Ro-Alert message was sent to Galați County at 07:48. 

Radar systems detected a new drone incursion into national airspace at 07:50 in the Galați region, and the F-16s made radar contact with the target.

The situation was still under monitoring at the time this story was published.

The incident comes roughly one week after another drone was spotted entering national airspace during Russian attacks on Ukraine, which also prompted the scramble of German and Romanian fighter jets.

New legal framework allows the military to neutralise or destroy drones and other unauthorized aerial vehicles entering national airspace. Under the law, such measures must align with international regulations, take into account all circumstances, and prioritize the protection of human life, with destruction considered only as a last resort.

irina.marica@romania-insider.com

(Photo source: Ivan Cholakov/Dreamstime.com)