A drone that entered Romanian airspace was shot down on Friday morning by a Romanian Air Force F-16 fighter jet in Buzau County, President Nicusor Dan announced. Authorities are investigating the incident and have not yet identified the drone’s origin.
According to the president, the incident occurred at around 11:00 a.m. in an uninhabited area, allowing the pilot to engage the target without endangering civilians.
“We had a drone in our airspace. It was shot down a few minutes ago, around 11:00 a.m., by a Romanian pilot flying an F-16. It is important to note that the drone was in an uninhabited area. That is why the pilot was able to fire from above, and teams from the relevant institutions are now investigating the incident to establish all the details,” Nicusor Dan said.
The Romanian president added that authorities are carrying out an investigation at the crash site to determine the circumstances under which the drone entered Romanian airspace and to identify its origin.
So far, no information has been released regarding where the drone came from or whether it posed a direct threat.
Earlier on Friday, residents of Buzau received their first-ever RO-Alert emergency notification warning of the possible fall of objects from the airspace. The alert urged people to remain calm and take shelter in basements or civil protection shelters, while avoiding windows and exterior walls.
The Buzau Inspectorate for Emergency Situations (ISU) said the alert had been issued by the General Inspectorate for Emergency Situations (IGSU) for a wider area in southeastern Romania, including Buzau County, following reports of a possible drone in a rural area.
Residents of Braila and Galati counties had received similar warnings earlier.
According to Agerpres, Romania’s military radar surveillance system detected a group of drones approximately 33 kilometers north of the country’s river border on Thursday night. An IAR-330 Puma SOCAT helicopter of the Romanian Air Force was also deployed to monitor the situation.