BUCHAREST, Romania (AP) — Romania shot down a suspected Russian drone after it crossed into its airspace on Sunday — the third such incursion in three days in the Eastern European nation that’s both a European Union and a NATO member, the country’s president said. Two Romanian F-16 fighter jets scrambled from the Fetești airbase, under NATO’s operational command, and shot down the drone over the Black Sea, the military alliance said.“A new drone was shot down this morning, at 10:13, by an F-16 aircraft of the Romanian Air Force, over the territorial waters of Romania, in the Sulina–Chilia area,” Romanian President Nicusor Dan said.He added that authorities found that one of the earlier intercepted drones appears to be “a Shahed type, used by the Russian Federation in the war of aggression against Ukraine.”This is the fourth recent downing by Romania of a drone violating NATO airspace in coordination with the alliance, said Col. Martin O’Donnell, a spokesperson for NATO’s Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe, known as SHAPE.
Before the last three interceptions, Romanian jets shot down a drone in the sky above Estonia in May, he said. Romanian pilots and planes are based in Lithuania from where they have broad strike capabilities as part of NATO’s force posture.“As we continue to prove, NATO is constantly on the watch and prepared to defend itself from any threat,” O’Donnell said.
