Overview
- The Romanian Air Force shot down an unidentified drone over Buzău County, with the engagement taking place at 11:02 a.m. on Friday after the aircraft was first tracked near Sulina.
- NATO air policing assets — two Romanian F-16s and two Italian Eurofighter Typhoons — were scrambled under allied command and cleared to engage the intruder.
- Pilots visually reported a Shahed-type signature, but Romanian and NATO officials say the drone’s provenance and payload remain unconfirmed while teams collect wreckage on site.
- No casualties or damage were reported because the drone was downed over uninhabited ground, and authorities sent emergency alerts to nearby counties as the object moved inland.
- The incident follows months of stray aerial and maritime weapons linked to the Russia–Ukraine war, builds on Romania’s 2025 rules to counter air breaches, and could reshape NATO’s eastern air-defence posture and diplomatic response.