The Romanian Defense Ministry, Radu Miruta, reported this Sunday that a Spanish fighter plane on a NATO air surveillance mission shot down a drone that had crossed its airspace near the border with Ukraine and Moldova.
"At 04:44 hours, the target was detected entering the Romanian national airspace, 24 kilometers north of Galati. At that time, two Spanish F-18 fighter planes, which had already been put on alert as a precautionary measure, received authorization to intervene," the Romanian president confirmed in a publication on his social networks.
He added that debris fell in a depopulated area of the Galati region, between the towns of Baleni and Cudalbi, near the border with Moldova.
"Congratulations to the Spanish pilots and the Romanian military personnel in the command center for a successful mission! Romania is defending its airspace, and our allies are at our side. Vigilance, rapid response and allied solidarity: these are the concrete guarantees of our security," celebrated the head of Defense.
For its part, NATO has confirmed that two Spanish F-18 fighters have been "urgently mobilized and that one of them has shot down a drone over Romanian airspace," in the words of its spokesperson, Allison Hart, to Europa Press.
"The aircraft operated under NATO command. An investigation is underway and NATO remains in close contact with the Romanian authorities," he added, while ensuring that the Atlantic Alliance is ready to "respond to any potential threat, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, in order to safeguard our territory and protect our population."
The Minister of Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation, José Manuel Albares, has also reported in X that he has spoken with his counterpart from Romania, Oana-Silvia, who has thanked him for the intervention of the Spanish pilots.
Albares also defends that "Spain's work and solidarity are key to Euro-Atlantic security."
Meanwhile, NATO military spokesman, Colonel Martin L. O'Donnell, noted that "the drone appears to be Russian," although the circumstances of the event continue to be investigated.
In this sense, he has warned that the Atlantic Alliance is "constantly alert and prepared to defend itself against any threat", something that for him reflects what happened this Sunday morning.
"The operation was coordinated through the NATO Combined Air Operations Center in Torrejón, Spain. This is the fourth successful downing of a drone over Romanian airspace by NATO aircraft," he highlighted.
O'Donnell has partially attributed the success of this type of operations to the fact that Romania and other countries of the Atlantic Alliance "are actively acquiring ground-based interceptors to improve allied and national air defense capabilities."
"Romania, for example, has acquired the MEROPS anti-drone system, designed to intercept small unmanned aerial systems and which is being integrated into NATO's Eastern Flank Deterrence Initiative," he said.
Romania, with 19 million inhabitants, shares a land border of about 614 kilometers with Ukraine and has become one of the countries most exposed to the consequences of the war.
Its eastern part, on the Black Sea, is located near areas frequently attacked by Russian forces.
