Romania's airspace has come under scrutiny as two Russian drones breached its borders, marking the deepest incursion into Romanian airspace since the Ukraine conflict began. The incident occurred on Tuesday morning, with both drones detected at 7:50 am and 6:28 am local time respectively.
In response to the breach, NATO scrambled German Typhoon fighter jets and Romanian F-16s to track and follow the uncrewed aircraft. However, only one of the drones was intercepted before it crashed in Puiești, Romania, while the other continued into Ukrainian airspace. Romanian Defence Minister Ionuț Moșteanu confirmed that two German pilots were given orders to shoot down the second drone but decided not to engage it due to concerns about potential civilian casualties.
An examination of the wreckage revealed that the drone was unarmed and possibly crashed out of fuel, suggesting a possible intention by Moscow to overwhelm Ukrainian air defences. This incident marks the 13th time Romanian airspace has been breached by Russian drones since the start of the conflict in Ukraine. In recent weeks, there have been multiple incidents of drone incursions into Moldova's airspace as well.
Experts argue that relying on fighter jets to shoot down drones is an expensive and sometimes impractical solution to counter this threat. As NATO steps up its response to the crisis, Romanian authorities are working on new capabilities to defend their territory. The Eastern Sentry mission has been activated in response to the increasing drone incursions into NATO's eastern flank.
The international community continues to grapple with the implications of Russian drones being used as a means of intimidation and warfare.
In response to the breach, NATO scrambled German Typhoon fighter jets and Romanian F-16s to track and follow the uncrewed aircraft. However, only one of the drones was intercepted before it crashed in Puiești, Romania, while the other continued into Ukrainian airspace. Romanian Defence Minister Ionuț Moșteanu confirmed that two German pilots were given orders to shoot down the second drone but decided not to engage it due to concerns about potential civilian casualties.
An examination of the wreckage revealed that the drone was unarmed and possibly crashed out of fuel, suggesting a possible intention by Moscow to overwhelm Ukrainian air defences. This incident marks the 13th time Romanian airspace has been breached by Russian drones since the start of the conflict in Ukraine. In recent weeks, there have been multiple incidents of drone incursions into Moldova's airspace as well.
Experts argue that relying on fighter jets to shoot down drones is an expensive and sometimes impractical solution to counter this threat. As NATO steps up its response to the crisis, Romanian authorities are working on new capabilities to defend their territory. The Eastern Sentry mission has been activated in response to the increasing drone incursions into NATO's eastern flank.
The international community continues to grapple with the implications of Russian drones being used as a means of intimidation and warfare.