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Romania’s F-16 Shoots Down Russian Drone as Ukraine Suggests Airspace Breach Was Deliberate
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A Romanian F-16 fighter jet shot down a drone over eastern Romania on July 24, marking the NATO member’s first aerial interception after dozens of previous airspace incursions, Reuters reported on July 24.
Romania’s chief of staff, General Gheorghiță Vlad, told a news conference that the aircraft visually appeared to be a Shahed, the Iranian-designed attack drone used by Russia against Ukraine.
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He said investigators had not yet formally determined the drone’s origin, although pilots reported it visually matched the Shahed attack drones used by Russia.
A Romanian army source also commented on the incident.
“There is an ongoing investigation to determine the origin of the drone. But in this part of the world, it is Russia that is the attacker,” the source said.
Romanian President Nicușor Dan wrote on X that a Romanian pilot downed the drone at about 11 a.m. local time.
“The area was uninhabited, so the pilot was able to shoot without any risk,” Dan stated. “Currently, teams of the relevant institutions are investigating the area to come up with all the details about the incident.”
According to Romania’s Defense Ministry, radar first detected the drone at about 9:30 a.m., roughly 20 kilometers east of Sulina on the Black Sea coast. Romania scrambled two F-16 fighter jets, while two Italian Eurofighter Typhoons stationed in the country also responded.
The drone was later shot down near the town of Padina in eastern Romania’s Buzău County. Debris fell into a wheat field without causing injuries or damage, according to the county prefect.
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Ukraine’s Air Force linked the incursion to changes in Russian drone tactics observed during the overnight attack on July 24.
Yurii Ihnat, head of the Air Force’s communications directorate, told RBC-Ukraine that Russia has begun deploying attack drones equipped with live command channels. Such systems allow operators to change a drone’s course and target in real time and are frequently used against moving objects, including locomotives and vehicles, he said.
“Such a drone with a mesh network flew in today. A crossing of the state border was recorded somewhere near Vylkove, and it flew into Romania,” Ihnat said. “Fighter jets were scrambled there, and the president has already announced that it was shot down.”
Ihnat said the incident raised questions over whether the incursion could have been deliberate.
“We see that if it really did have control channels, then there is also a question: are the Russians doing this deliberately, directing these drones into NATO countries?” he added.
Earlier, on May 29, a Russian Geran-2 loitering munition, a Shahed-derived design, struck a residential high-rise in Galați at 1:53 a.m., injuring two people and forcing the evacuation of 70 residents.
Two F-16s were scrambled that night as well, and Bucharest afterward asked NATO allies to fast-track deliveries of advanced anti-drone systems.
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