Romania scrambled four F-16s after detecting two drones in airspace

Armed forces response to drone appearance

The Romanian Ministry of Defence reported that on the evening of 31 October, a violation of national airspace by two unmanned aerial vehicles was recorded. The incident occurred in the north-eastern part of the country. To ensure monitoring and control of the situation, the Romanian Air Force immediately scrambled four F-16 fighter jets, as well as an IAR-330 SOCAT helicopter.

Public notification and preventive measures

Due to the existing threat, the National Military Command Centre informed the General Inspectorate for Emergency Situations of the need to take preventive measures. Residents of six counties — Iasi, Neamt, Vaslui, Botosani, Bacau and Suceava — received appropriate warnings about potential danger.

Event development and alert cancellation

According to official data, one of the drones had already left Romanian airspace. The last detection of the second drone took place on the border of Vaslui and Bacau counties. At the time the information was released, no reports of the aircraft or their debris falling had been received. The air raid alert was later cancelled.