Romania shoots down drone that breached its airspace

On Sunday morning, a Spanish F/A-18 fighter jet operating under NATO's air-policing mission intercepted and shot down a drone that had breached Romanian airspace without authorization, according to Romania's defense ministry. The drone entered Romanian territory from neighboring Moldova, approximately 24 kilometers north of the city of Galați.

The Spanish fighter established radar contact with the unauthorized aircraft and received permission to engage it before successfully intercepting and shooting it down at 5:01 a.m. local time. No fragments from the aircraft were reported to have landed in inhabited areas, and there were no injuries or property damage as a result of the incident.

Romania, which shares a 614-kilometer border with Ukraine and is a NATO member, has faced repeated drone incursions linked to Russia's ongoing war against neighboring Ukraine. This marks the fourth drone Romania has shot down this year alone. Russian drones have frequently entered Romanian airspace throughout the four-year conflict.

In July, Romanian F-16 pilots intercepted and shot down three Russian drones that had breached the country's airspace, marking the first such intercepts since dozens of reported incursions since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine began.

Earlier this year, a Russian drone crashed into an apartment building in Galați during an overnight attack on targets across the border in Ukraine. The recent interception on Sunday highlights the ongoing threat that Russian attacks near NATO's eastern border pose to allied territory. NATO aircraft stationed under the bloc's air-policing mission are required to respond to such incidents.