Romanian F-16s shoot down two Russian jet-powered drones over Black Sea
Romanian F-16 fighter jets shot down two Russian Geran-series jet-powered attack drones after they entered Romania's airspace over its territorial waters in the Black Sea on October 17, the country's Defense Ministry said.
Two F-16s scrambled from the 86th Air Base at Borcea at 5:43 p.m. local time as part of Romania's air policing mission.
The first drone was shot down southeast of Sulina at 6:01 p.m., after spending two minutes in Romanian airspace. The second was intercepted east of Sulina at 6:05 p.m., following a five-minute incursion.
The ministry said its radar systems had detected aerial targets near the Ukrainian border on eight separate occasions over the preceding week. Four of those incidents involved drones briefly entering Romanian airspace.
Several commercial vessels were also struck by drones in the Black Sea during the same period, including in Romanian territorial waters, the ministry said.
Romania's Defense Ministry said it was continuously adapting its response measures to protect the country's airspace and territorial waters.