Romanian Air Force F-16 fighter jets shot down two drones on October 17 after they entered the country’s airspace over its territorial waters in the Black Sea, according to a statement from Romania’s Ministry of National Defence.
According to the ministry, two aircraft took off from Borcea Air Base at 5:43 p.m. local time. The first drone entered Romanian airspace at 5:59 p.m. and was shot down at 6:01 p.m. The second entered at 6:01 p.m. and was shot down four minutes later.
The ministry specified that both interceptions took place over Romanian territorial waters, not over land. These details come from the military’s account of its own air operations.
In a subsequent statement, Romania’s Defence Ministry identified both aircraft as jet-powered attack drones of the Geran family. However, the information it released did not establish who launched the drones or where they were launched from; their attribution to a particular country remains unresolved.