Spanish F-18s scrambled as drone crashes on Romania-Ukraine border

Published Aug 20, 04:03 PM UTC

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Early Thursday morning, an uncrewed aerial system (UAS) entered Romanian airspace and crashed in an uninhabited area of Tulcea county, near the village of Grindu on the border with Ukraine. The Romanian Defence Ministry reported that military radar detected aerial targets north of Tulcea at 02:23 local time. Two Spanish F-18 fighter jets and a Romanian IAR-330 SOCAT helicopter were deployed to monitor the situation. At 03:21, one drone breached Romanian airspace approximately 13km east of Galați, and within three minutes, the helicopter crew confirmed it had crashed about 4km northeast of Grindu, causing a small fire that self-extinguished. No injuries or material damage were reported. The National Military Command Centre activated public warning procedures. This incident follows a similar event on 16 August, when a Spanish F-18 shot down a drone near the Ukrainian and Moldovan borders, and a previous drone downing last month. The recurring drone incursions have raised security concerns among NATO members neighboring Ukraine.

Source

Airforce TechnologyWestern

Original headline: Spanish F-18s respond to UAS crash on Romania-Ukraine border

Original language: EN-US

People and interests

Romania Ukraine NATO