Two drones downed over the Black Sea
On Saturday, 17 October, interim Defence Minister Radu Miruță announced on Facebook that Romanian military pilots had engaged and shot down two aerial drones over the Black Sea. The Ministry of National Defence (MApN) issued a press release with matching details. The first drone entered national airspace at 17:59 and was shot down about two minutes later. The second was engaged and downed at 18:05, after entering national airspace.
F-16 interception
Two Romanian Air Force F-16 fighters took off from Borcea 86 Air Base at 17:43, after radar systems detected a group of aerial targets about 120 kilometres east of Snake Island heading south-west. The ministry said one F-16 downed the first target at 18:01 and the other F-16 downed the second at 18:05. Both targets were identified as drones and were shot down over Romanian territorial waters. According to Miruță, both drones were brought down near Sulina, roughly 25 kilometres south-east and 20 kilometres east of the town.
- Two F-16s take off from Borcea 86 Air Base after radar detects targets
- First drone enters Romanian national airspace
- First drone shot down by one F-16
- Second drone shot down by the other F-16
Reports differ slightly on when the second drone entered Romanian airspace. Miruță's post implied about 18:00, while the ministry's statement gave 18:01.
The minister's reaction
Miruță congratulated the pilots in his post and said the preparation and effort put in so far had proven their worth.
Congratulations, colleagues! Nothing of what has been done so far was in vain!