BUCHAREST (Reuters) – Romania’s radar systems detected a second drone in as many days breaching its national airspace that fighter jets scrambled overnight did not see, the defence ministry said on Saturday.
Late on Thursday, army radars detected a small flying object – likely a drone – headed for Constanta before losing the signal. Fighter jets did not see it and Romanian Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu said on Friday the defence ministry was analysing the possibility of a “cyber challenge, because pilots did not have visual contact with the drone”.
On Friday night, another drone was detected, up to 19 km inland, also in the southeastern county of Constanta. Romania once again scrambled two F-16 fighter jets and two Spanish F-18s, which are carrying out air policing missions in the country for the rest of the year. The pilots did not see the drone.
Residents of Constanta were warned to take cover.
The European Union and NATO state, which shares a 650-km (400-mile) border with Ukraine, has had Russian drone fragments fall onto its territory repeatedly over the past year as Moscow attacks Ukrainian port infrastructure.
While most of the fragments landed in Romania after being destroyed by Ukrainian air defences, worries of escalation increased in September when both Romania and Latvia both had their airspace breached by Russian drones. Romania’s air space was breached by a Russian drone again later that month.
(Reporting by Luiza Ilie; Editing by Alison Williams)
