Romania drone intercepted second time on Friday when a Romanian F-16 shot down a suspected Russian drone after it entered Romanian airspace. Nicusor Dan said it was the first time Romania had intercepted an intruding aircraft since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine began. The drone was first detected about 20km east of the Black Sea port of Sulina.
Padina and the uninhabited area
The Romanian military source said Russia was the suspected point of origin. Romania’s Ministry of National Defence said the drone crossed national airspace through Braila, Fetesti and Buzau county before one F-16 engaged it with an air-to-air missile and downed it over unpopulated ground near the village of Padina. No casualties or injuries were reported.
NATO air policing mission
Two Italian Eurofighter Typhoon jets deployed to Romania under NATO’s air policing mission were joined by two Romanian F-16s during the response. Romania has recorded dozens of drone incursions since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine began, and the Friday interception was the first successful one. Mark Rutte said Moscow’s “reckless behaviour is a danger to us all”, while Matthew Whitaker said the alliance will “defend every inch” of its territory.
Romania and NATO airspace
The incident adds a sharper operational detail to a pattern Romania has been living with for months: drones have crossed into its airspace before, but this was the first time a Romanian fighter brought one down. In late May, a drone struck an apartment building in Galati and injured two people. A month later, a Ukrainian sea drone exploded at the port of Constanta after Kyiv said it had launched the vessel, which had been knocked off course by Russian jamming.
What remains for Romania and NATO is the origin question. Officials described the drone as suspected to be Russian, not definitively identified, and the breach route from Sulina toward Padina shows how quickly a drone can move across the country’s eastern edge before air defenses intercept it.
