Overview
- Romanian authorities detected a small maritime drone a few hundred meters from the Neptun Deep gas platform and scrambled two F-16s, which fired on the device before Coast Guard EOD teams destroyed it.
- Defence Minister Radu Miruță said the recovered drone was loaded with explosives and that Ukraine confirmed it was not of Ukrainian origin.
- Officials initially reported two devices but later clarified that only a single drone was involved in the August 20 incident.
- The ministry set up a command cell and requested transfer of operational authority from NATO to Romania to speed the response, and NATO acknowledged the F-16 scramble.
- The episode follows earlier Black Sea incidents this month, including controlled detonations of Gerbera-type sea drones on August 11, and raises stakes for securing Neptun Deep ahead of planned 2027 production.