Romanian Fighter Jets Down Third Drone in Three Days as Security Tensions Rise

Published on 26/07/2026 – 10:36 GMT+2•Updated 10:53

Romanian President Nicușor Dan announced that a third drone has been shot down by Romanian forces in just three days, marking another incident in a series of drone‑related encounters across the country.

In a social‑media statement, Dan said a Romanian Air Force F‑16 intercepted a drone over the nation’s territorial waters at approximately 10:13 am on Sunday. The incursion occurred in the Sulina‑Chilia sector of the Danube Delta, close to the Ukrainian border.

“I would like to congratulate the Romanian pilots and ground crews on the professionalism, courage and efficiency with which they carry out their missions,” Dan wrote on X.

Romanian authorities reported that an F‑16 downed another unmanned aerial vehicle on Saturday morning, about 10 km west of the village of Sfântu Gheorghe in eastern Romania. Two jets were scrambled to identify and intercept the target, and the drone was safely destroyed in an unpopulated area near the frontier, the Defence Ministry said.

A third drone was shot down by a Romanian F‑16 around 11 am on Friday.

Investigators have identified the Friday drone as a Shahed‑type aircraft used by Russian forces in its war against Ukraine, Romanian officials said.

While probes into the Saturday and Sunday drones continue, Dan stressed that it is intolerable for the Russian Federation to keep violating Romania’s airspace. “Such actions are unacceptable and we are treating them with the utmost seriousness, alongside our allies,” he added.

Romania’s growing drone problem

Romania, positioned on NATO’s eastern flank and the Black Sea coast, remains especially vulnerable to security challenges linked to Russia’s war against Ukraine, which began with Moscow’s full‑scale invasion in February 2022.

Bucharest has seen a surge in drone‑related incidents and airspace incursions in recent months, prompting officials to pledge heightened security measures nationwide.

In May, a Russian drone carrying explosives crashed into an apartment block in Galați, igniting a roof fire and injuring two people.

The following month, a Ukrainian sea drone exploded in the Romanian port of Constanța. The Ukrainian military said the device had drifted off course because of Russian electronic‑warfare interference.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen described such events as a direct consequence of Russia’s war against Ukraine.

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