Romanian President Nicușor Dan said that a Romanian Air Force F-16 fighter jet shot down a drone over the country’s territory for the first time.
This was reported by Romania Journal.
“We had a drone in our airspace. It was shot down around 11 a.m. by a Romanian F-16 pilot. The area was uninhabited, which is why the pilot was able to engage the target from above,” Dan told journalists.
He added that teams from the relevant authorities are currently at the scene investigating the incident in order to provide further details.
According to the Inspectorate for Emergency Situations of Brăila County (ISU), the General Staff of the Romanian Air Force expanded the air alert zone to include the eastern part of Brăila County.
The authorities also issued an emergency Ro-Alert warning for residents. Residents of the city of Galați received a similar warning. Emergency Ro-Alert messages were also sent to residents of Buzău and Prahova counties.
Romania’s Defense Minister Radu Miruță outlined the sequence of events that led to the interception and destruction of the drone that entered Romanian airspace on Friday morning, praising the Romanian fighter pilots for their “professionalism, composure, and swift response.”
“The efforts of recent months are paying off. Romanian servicemen shot down a drone that unlawfully entered Romania’s airspace today at around 11:07 a.m. Congratulations to our Romanian pilots! Through professionalism, calm under pressure, and a rapid response, they neutralized a drone that illegally entered Romania’s airspace. This is further proof that the Romanian Armed Forces are fulfilling their fundamental mission: defending the national territory and protecting our citizens,” Miruță wrote on Facebook.
