Romania’s defence ministry said a Spanish Air and Space Force F-18 on NATO air-policing duty shot down an unidentified drone after it entered Romanian airspace from the direction of Moldova. The incident unfolded early on 16 August near Galați, with the aircraft already airborne on a monitoring mission and authorised to engage after establishing radar contact.
Romanian surveillance systems detected the drone at 04:44 local time, about 24 kilometres north of Galați. The fighter destroyed it at 05:01, and the air alert ended at 05:20. Debris was assessed to have fallen in an unpopulated area between Băleni and Cudalbi in Galați County. Authorities have not identified the drone’s type or operator.
The shootdown is the fourth drone destroyed over Romanian territory this year, underlining repeated incursions along NATO’s eastern flank. Spanish fighter jets have been deployed in Romania as part of the alliance’s air-policing mission, which supports the protection of Romanian airspace alongside local forces.