NATO fighter shoots down suspected Russian drone that illegally entered Romanian airspace

Jerusalem Post/World News"Additional details regarding Sunday’s incident remain under investigation, but the drone appears to be Russian," said NATO spokesperson US Army Colonel Martin O'Donnell.Follow us on GoogleILLUSTRATIVE: Firefighters and law enforcement work at the site of an explosion at a residential block of flats following a drone hit close to the border with Ukraine, in Galati, Romania, May 29, 2026.(photo credit: Inquam Photos via REUTERS TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY)ByREUTERSAUGUST 16, 2026 12:54An F-18 fighter on a NATO air policing mission shot down a drone that illegally breached Romanian national airspace, the fourth unmanned aircraft shot down over the country this year, Romania's Defense Ministry said on Sunday.A spokesperson for NATO's military headquarters, US Army Colonel Martin O'Donnell, said the alliance is constantly on watch and prepared to defend itself from any threat. "Additional details regarding Sunday’s incident remain under investigation, but the drone appears to be Russian," he said.NATO member Romania shares a 614 km. land border with Ukraine and has reported repeated breaches of its airspace by Russian drones over the past four years, as well as mines floating in the Black Sea across key trade and energy routes.Romania's defense ministry did not specify the origin of the drone, saying it was detected by radar as it entered the country from neighboring Moldova, 24 km. north of the southeastern Romanian city of Galati.Explosion following what the Romania's defense ministry says was a detonation of Russian drone fragments found in a location given as near Rachelu village, Romania, in this screengrab taken from a handout video released on June 30, 2026. (credit: ROMANIAN DEFENSE MINISTRY/Handout via REUTERS)The F-18 jet, part of a Spanish NATO contingent deployed in Romania, "made radar contact with the target and received permission to engage", the ministry said in a statement, adding that the drone was shot down safely at 5:01 a.m. (0201 GMT).The ministry said that fragments from the destroyed drone appeared to have fallen in an uninhabited area between two villages.Russia reportedly sends drones to Romania to breach NATO airspaceIn July, Romanian F-16 fighter jet pilots shot down three Russian drones breaching national airspace for the first time after dozens of such incursions since the start of Russia's war in Ukraine.In May, a Russian drone crashed into an apartment block in Galati during an overnight attack on neighboring Ukraine, injuring two people.Follow us on Google