©Ryuno via Unsplash
For the second day in a row, Romania shot down a drone after it had entered Romanian airspace. According to the Ministry of Defense, the incident occurred Saturday morning over the Danube Delta, close to the border with Ukraine, where an F-16 intercepted and shot down the drone a few minutes after detecting it.
Defense Minister Radu Miruta reported that the drone appeared on radar at 8:22 a.m. and was shot down at 8:34 a.m., 9.6 kilometers west of Sfantu Gheorghe. According to him, this was an “illegal” intrusion into Romanian airspace. The action follows a similar incident the day before, when Romania shot down a drone for the first time since the Russian invasion of Ukraine. According to Romanian prosecutors, that drone was later identified as a Shahed drone, a type that Russia is using in the war against Ukraine.
Legal framework for shooting down drones
Meanwhile, the Romanian government has also enacted legislation allowing the military to shoot down drones, a measure approved in 2025. The latest incident underscores how tense the situation remains along the NATO border with Ukraine.
Since the start of the war in Ukraine, Romania has already recorded dozens of drone incidents along its border. In late May, one of these drones struck a densely populated area for the first time: a drone crashed into an apartment complex in Galați, injuring two people. The incident was a painful milestone for the NATO member state, as it was the first time a drone attack had resulted in injuries on an ally’s territory. Romanian authorities viewed it as a serious escalation and immediately raised their alert level. After repeated airspace violations, the Romanian parliament finally decided in 2025 to authorize the military to shoot down drones. This measure was intended to better protect the border regions along the Danube and the border with Ukraine, where drone sightings and strikes have since become commonplace.
©Ryuno via Unsplash - illustrative image of an F-16.