Romania again scrambles F-16s after drones sighted
Two Romanian Air Force F-16 fighter jets were scrambled on the morning of July 29 after radar detected a group of drones moving at a distance 20km north-west of Serpilor Island, the Ministry of National Defence said on its website.
The drones were spotted at about 10.30am and the fighters took off at 10.57am to monitor the situation and secure the national airspace, the ministry said.
According to the procedures established for such situations, the National Military Command Centre notified the General Inspectorate for Emergency Situations in order to institute measures to alert the population of Tulcea County, sending an RO-Alert message at 11.12am.
The drones continued into Ukrainian airspace, in the vicinity of the river border with Romania.
Later, explosions were reported on the Ukrainian side, the Ministry of National Defence said.
This is the latest in a a spate of incidents in recent days involving Romania shooting down drones in its airspace, and on July 27 scrambling two of its F-16 fighter jets after a drone entered its airspace before passing into Ukraine.
On July 27, Romania summoned the Russian ambassador, expelled a Russian diplomat and recalled its own ambassador from Moscow over the recent drone incidents.
Romanian investigators have established that the drones were of Russian origin.
(Photo: Romanian Ministry of National Defence)
