Another drone shot down in Romania
A drone that had illegally entered Romanian airspace from the Republic of Moldova was shot down in the early hours of Sunday morning by a Spanish fighter jet
Roxana Vasile, 17.08.2026, 14:00
A drone that had illegally entered Romanian airspace from neighbouring Moldova was intercepted and shot down during the night between Saturday and Sunday, in Galaţi County, in eastern Romania, by an F-18 aircraft of the Spanish Air and Space Forces, which was carrying out NATO Enhanced Air Policing missions at Mihail Kogălniceanu Air Base (south-east). The operation took place in coordination with Romanian military personnel at the command centre. The Ministry of National Defence in Bucharest reported that, following investigations, fragments of the interceptor missile were discovered and safely destroyed, as well as fragments of the drone shot down in an uninhabited area.
The Ministry of National Defence spokesperson, Daniel Nistor, provided the following details:
“The aerial and ground search operation carried out by joint teams from the Ministry of National Defence and the Ministry of Internal Affairs in the impact zone between the towns of Băleni and Cudalbi in Galați County concluded on Sunday, at around 4.20 pm. The search revealed fragments of the interceptor missile, which were safely neutralised, as well as fragments of the drone shot down earlier this morning, which were recovered by specialists.”
“Romania is defending its airspace, and our allies stand with us. Vigilance, rapid response and allied solidarity – these are the concrete guarantees of our security. Yes, Romania is on the front line of the European Union’s defence,” emphasised the acting Minister of Defence, Radu Miruţă. Meanwhile, the acting Minister of Foreign Affairs, Oana Ţoiu, held a telephone conversation with her counterpart in Madrid, Jose Manuel Albares, whom she thanked for Spain’s presence on Romanian territory as part of the Enhanced Air Policing mission.
‘We have informed (…) all our allies about the recent incidents; they thanked Romania for the successful mission, while expressing serious concern about the high frequency of such incursions. ‘We will continue to act in a coordinated manner,’ said Oana Ţoiu in a Facebook post, in which she noted that Spain had responded promptly to Romania’s request for joint reinforcement of the Eastern Flank.
Thirteen years on from the Strategic Partnership between Romania and Spain, this is what it means in practice, and it is of great value to NATO and the EU – the acting Foreign Minister emphasised. The incident in Galați is not, however, an isolated one! Several pieces of a drone were found on Sunday along the entire Romanian Black Sea coastline, carried by the waves and strong currents of the rough sea. No explosive payload was found in any of the cases. (MI)
