BUCHAREST, Romania — On Thursday, Romania’s Ministry of National Defense reported that four fighter jets were deployed to respond to an unidentified object that had entered its airspace in the southeastern region, close to the Black Sea.
The object, suspected to be a drone, was detected traveling toward Romania around 5 p.m. local time by the Romanian Armed Forces’ radar surveillance systems, as stated by the ministry.
Romania, which has a lengthy border of 650 kilometers (approximately 400 miles) with Ukraine, has experienced incidents involving Russian drones intruding into its airspace. This situation arises amidst Moscow’s ongoing military operations aimed at Ukrainian locations near the Black Sea and along the Danube River.
Pieces of Russian drones have frequently been discovered on Romanian soil near the border with Ukraine.
In response to the unidentified object, two F-18 jets from Spain and two Romanian F-16s were sent to the area for monitoring. The object was tracked by radar as it crossed into Romanian airspace near the coastal town of Eforie Nord, advancing approximately 14 kilometers (8.7 miles) inward.
However, the fighter jets were unable to locate the object, which vanished from radar shortly after, as reported by the ministry. Authorities planned to initiate an investigation at the potential impact site starting Friday morning.