Romania Shoots Down Two Drones Over Black Sea, Plans to Escalate at NATO

Romanian F-16 fighter jets shot down two drones over the Black Sea on Saturday, marking another incursion into the country's airspace linked to the war in Ukraine. Defense Minister Radu Miruta confirmed the intercepts late Friday, saying both drones entered Romanian airspace without authorization and were engaged within minutes.

The first drone crossed into Romanian airspace at 17:59 local time (14:59 GMT) and was shot down within two minutes, according to Miruta. A second drone was downed at 18:05, five minutes after entry. Both intercepts took place approximately 20 kilometers southeast of Sulina, near the Danube Delta. A defense ministry press release identified the drones as jet-powered attack drones from the Geran family, commonly used by Russian forces.

Two F-16s were scrambled from the 86th air base at Borcea, near the city of Fetești, after radar surveillance systems detected aerial targets. Neither the defense minister nor the ministry disclosed the origin of the drones, though the Geran classification points to Iranian-designed systems deployed extensively by Russia in its campaign against Ukraine.

Foreign Minister Oana Toiu announced that NATO would discuss Black Sea defense and deterrence at a North Atlantic Council meeting on Tuesday. "The Black Sea serves as a critical maritime artery for the global export of grain, energy resources, and industrial commodities, making its stability vital to international food and energy security," Toiu wrote on X. "The Black Sea will be safe again," she added.

The drone incidents are the latest in a sustained series of violations along Romania's 614-kilometer border with Ukraine, much of which follows the Danube River near Ukrainian ports targeted by Russian forces. Romania began shooting down drones crossing from Ukrainian territory earlier this year. Earlier this month, two chemical tankers were struck near the Sulina Canal in an attack that left seven crew members missing, reigniting concerns about the safety of commercial shipping in the region.

Bulgaria, a neighboring NATO member, has also requested additional anti-drone systems and combat aircraft from the alliance after similar attacks on ships in its sector of the Black Sea. The escalation underscores the widening impact of the Ukraine conflict on NATO's southeastern flank and the growing pressure on the alliance to strengthen collective air and maritime defenses in the region.