Bucharest (Brussels Morning Newspaper) – Romania’s radar systems detected a second Russian drone in as many days violating its national airspace.
Romania’s radar systems detected a second drone in as many days breaching its national airspace that fighter jets flew overnight did not see, the defence ministry stated on 19 Oct 2024. A day earlier, army radars caught a small flying object – likely a drone – headed for Constanta before yielding the signal. Fighter jets did not notice it and Romanian Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu stated, that the defence ministry was exploring the possibility of a “cyber challenge because pilots did not have a visual connection with the drone”.
What is Romania’s response to repeated airspace violations?
The drone was detected, up to 19 km inland, also in the southeastern county of Constanta. Romania once again shuffled two F-16 fighter jets and two Spanish F-18s, which are carrying out air policing tasks in the country for the rest of the year. The pilots did not see the drone. Residents of Constanta were alerted to take cover.
The European Union and NATO state, which shares a 650-km (400-mile) boundary with Ukraine, has had Russian drone pieces fall onto its territory repeatedly over the past year as Moscow bashes Ukrainian port infrastructure. While most of the pieces landed in Romania after being eliminated by Ukrainian air defences, worries of escalation were raised in September when both Romania and Latvia had their airspace violated by Russian drones. Romania’s air space was violated by a Russian drone again later that month.
How is NATO assisting Romania after drone incidents?
Moreover, NATO is stepping up its air defence measures on its Eastern Flank, top alliance officials stated on Oct. 18, just one day after allied warplanes flew in response to an incursion into Romania’s airspace. “Allies arranged that air and missile defence remains an alliance priority,” NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte spoke to alliance defence ministers at NATO’s glass-enclosed headquarters. “This is all the more important given Russia’s war against Ukraine, which has resulted in multiple NATO airspace infringements, including just yesterday in Romania.”
Recently, NATO started conducting additional flights of its E-3 Sentry Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS) aircraft to sufficiently surveil the Romanian airspace against Russian menace. The E-3s, one of the few venues NATO owns as an alliance, began their expanded presence on Sept. 29, NATO said.
