A Romanian F-16 fighter jet shot down a suspected Shahed-type drone that penetrated the country’s airspace on Friday, July 24 – the first time Romania has destroyed an intruding drone since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. The drone was destroyed with an air-to-air missile at 11:02 a.m. over an unpopulated area near Padina in Romania’s Buzău County. No casualties or property damage were reported.JOIN US ON TELEGRAMFollow our coverage of the war on the @Kyivpost_official. Romania’s Ministry of National Defense reported that radar systems first detected the aerial target at 9:39 a.m., approximately 20 kilometers east of Sulina on the Black Sea. It subsequently entered Romanian airspace and followed a trajectory through Sulina, Brăila and Fetești toward Buzău. Two Italian Air Force Eurofighter Typhoons deployed at Mihail Kogălniceanu Air Base under NATO’s Air Policing mission were scrambled at 9:48 a.m. Two Romanian F-16s from the 86th Air Base at Fetești followed at 10:56 a.m. Chief of Defence Gen. Gheorghiță Vlad later disclosed that the Italian aircraft had also fired at the drone but failed to destroy it. The Romanian F-16 subsequently engaged the target and brought it down near Padina. Fragments fell into a wheat field without causing casualties or damage. Romanian President Nicușor Dan noted that the area was uninhabited, allowing the pilot to fire without putting civilians at risk.