Romanian fighter jet destroys maritime drone near gas platform in Black Sea

According to the government, two Romanian F-16 fighter jets took off in Bucharest on Thursday because of a maritime drone carrying explosives. It was therefore destroyed.

The drone was discovered in the immediate vicinity of a gas production platform in the Black Sea about 80 nautical miles east of the city of Constanța, Defense Minister Radu-Dinel Miruță said on Facebook. The ministry said that a merchant ship first spotted the drone and that the coast guard later carried out further checks.

For the safety of the people working on the gas platform, it was decided to destroy the drone in coordination with the Romanian President. A total of two F-16 jets took off and the unmanned sea vehicle was then destroyed using an on-board gun from a fighter aircraft.

According to Miruță, there was also an exchange with Ukraine about the drone. Ukraine stated that the drone did not come from its own country.

Romanian President Nicușor Dan blamed Russia for the drone incident. "I strongly condemn the intensification of such irresponsible incidents by the Russian Federation," Dan wrote on X. Together with NATO allies, we remain vigilant to defend ourselves and repel such provocations.

EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen wrote on X about “hybrid warfare.” "There is currently an escalating threat campaign that is unsettling our citizens and aimed at dividing our Union."

In recent months there have been repeated drone incidents in Eastern European NATO countries. Romania has recorded several drone overflights and crashes on its territory since Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine began almost four and a half years ago.

Poland and the Baltic states also regularly report similar incidents. Recently, the discovery of an explosive drone at Leipzig Airport also caused concern.

The “Neptun Alpha” platform is part of the “Neptun Deep” offshore production project in the Romanian part of the Black Sea. It is the largest natural gas project in the country. It is being developed in equal parts by Petrom, a subsidiary of the Austrian energy group OMV, and the Romanian state-owned company Romgaz. Production is scheduled to start in 2027 and is expected to make Romania the largest gas producer in the EU.