Romania scrambles F-16 jets and downs a suspected Russian drone, the third in 3 days

BUCHAREST, Romania (AP) — Romania shot down a suspected Russian drone after it crossed into its airspace on Sunday — the third such incursion in three days in the Eastern European nation that’s both a European Union and a NATO member, the country’s president said.

Two Romanian F-16 fighter jets scrambled from the Fetești airbase, under NATO’s operational command, and shot down the drone over the Black Sea, the military alliance said.

“A new drone was shot down this morning, at 10:13, by an F-16 aircraft of the Romanian Air Force, over the territorial waters of Romania, in the Sulina–Chilia area,” Romanian President Nicusor Dan said.

He added that authorities found that one of the earlier intercepted drones appears to be “a Shahed type, used by the Russian Federation in the war of aggression against Ukraine.”

This is the fourth recent downing by Romania of a drone violating NATO airspace in coordination with the alliance, said Col. Martin O’Donnell, a spokesperson for NATO’s Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe, known as SHAPE.

Before the last three interceptions, Romanian jets shot down a drone in the sky above Estonia in May, he said. Romanian pilots and planes are based in Lithuania from where they have broad strike capabilities as part of NATO’s force posture.

“As we continue to prove, NATO is constantly on the watch and prepared to defend itself from any threat,” O’Donnell said.

Romania has acquired the MEROPS counter-drone system, which fires relatively cheap, three-feet long drones to take down incoming Shahed and other variants. That system is part of a broader hardening across the military alliance of NATO’s long eastern border against drone threats.

In May, a Russian drone that was part of an attack on Ukraine went astray and struck an apartment building in eastern Romania, injuring two people and raising fears the war could spill over into the alliance’s territory.

“It is inadmissible and intolerable that the Russian Federation continues to violate Romanian airspace, which is also NATO and European Union airspace,” President Dan said. “Such actions are unacceptable and we treat them with all seriousness, together with our allies.”

NATO and EU ally Belgium said Sunday’s incursion was a “stark reminder of the ongoing threat Russia’s war poses to European security.”

“Belgium stands firmly with Romania after several drones were shot down over its territory in the past days. Romania’s investigation has already confirmed that one of them was a Russian Shahed drone,” the country’s Foreign Minister Maxime Prévot said, adding that 300 Belgium troops are based in Romania as part of NATO’s eastern flank force.

A series of drone incursions by Russia and Ukraine have hit Romania and other NATO members since Moscow launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

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McNeil reported from Brussels.