Press Release - UPDATE

On Saturday, October 17, the radar surveillance system of the Ministry of National Defence detected a group of aerial targets operating approximately 120 kilometers east of Snake Island, heading to a southwestern direction.

Two F-16 aircraft of the Romanian Air Force from the 86th Borcea Air Base, conducting Air Policing Service, scrambled at 5:43 PM and shot down two aerial targets over Romania's territorial waters, within the national airspace.

The neutralized targets were Geran-family attack drones, equipped with jet propulsion.

The first was shot down at 6:01 PM, southeast of Sulina, after operating for two minutes within the national airspace, and the second at 6:05 PM, east of Sulina, after having operated within the national airspace for five minutes. 

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We recall that over the past week, prior to today's incident, the radar surveillance system of the Ministry of National Defence detected, in eight distinct instances, aerial targets operating within the Ukrainian airspace near the Romanian border. In four of these instances, unmanned aerial vehicles briefly entered the national airspace. 

Also, during this period, several commercial vessels were struck by drones in the Black Sea, including within Romania's territorial waters.

The Ministry of National Defence is constantly adapting its procedures and response measures to defend the national airspace and territorial sea.

The Press Office