Spanish jet downs drone in Romania after airspace breach

Bucharest - A Spanish F-18 fighter jet shot down a drone that had infiltrated Romanian airspace near the border with Ukraine and Moldova early Sunday, according to national authorities and NATO. The incident occurred at 5.01am (0201 GMT) as the drone entered from Moldova, according to Romania's Defence Ministry. The downed drone left debris in an uninhabited area of the Galati region, close to the Ukrainian border.

Spain's Defence Ministry praised its air force for demonstrating "outstanding professionalism" in protecting European airspace. Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares informed his Romanian counterpart, Oana Toiu, of the successful interception. NATO Air Command confirmed the operation involved two F-18s, part of a Spanish contingent of approximately 200 personnel and 11 aircraft stationed in Romania.

This marks the fourth drone to be destroyed in Romania since the onset of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. On Sunday, drone remnants were discovered in the Black Sea, off Romania's coastal city of Constanta. In a separate development, Romania expelled a Russian embassy employee in response to repeated drone incursions into its airspace.

In July, Romania expelled three diplomats in a firm response to multiple drone breaches. Since 2023, authorities have reported finding drone fragments on Romanian soil multiple times following Russian attacks on Ukrainian ports on the Danube River, located just across the border. Similar occurrences have been reported in other NATO member states along the Eastern Flank, including Poland and the Baltic states.

On Friday, NATO reported that Italian jets, operating under the alliance's air-policing mission, shot down a drone entering Latvian airspace.