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A drone crashed in Romania on Friday after flying undetected through the country’s airspace, according to local authorities, as a wave of incursions involving unmanned aerial vehicles continues across NATO’s eastern flank.
In a statement, the Romanian Defence Ministry said it had received a call to an emergency hotline regarding a drone that had gone down near Luncavița in the east of the country, around five km from the border with Ukraine.
“Based on currently available data, the aerial target was not detected by the Ministry’s radar surveillance systems, as it was flying at a very low altitude,” the ministry said, adding that the drone had crashed in a wooded area and that there were so far no recorded casualties or damage to property or infrastructure.
The crash comes after an Italian Eurofighter jet operating as part of NATO’s Baltic Air Policing mission shot down a “foreign drone” in Latvian airspace on Friday.
Two Italian Eurofighters were scrambled from Šiauliai air base in Lithuania alongside two Turkish F-16s from Ämari air base in Estonia to identify and intercept the drone, according to NATO Air Command.
Latvia’s armed forces said the drone had entered Latvia “as a result of Russian electromagnetic warfare” and that it was intercepted over the Balvi region.
Romania’s drone battle
Romania’s shared border with Ukraine and its position along the Black Sea put it on the front line of security challenges stemming from Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, which began in February 2022.
The country has in particular become a hotbed for drone-related incidents and incursions in recent months.
Earlier this week, Romanian military divers carried out a controlled explosion of two Gerbera-type drones in the Black Sea, close to the Neptun Deep gas project.
In July, Romanian F-16 fighter jets shot down three drones over just three days, while in June, a Ukrainian maritime drone exploded in the port Constanta.
A Russian UAV carrying explosives also crashed in the city of Galați in May, causing a fire at a residential apartment block and injuring two people.
NATO and European officials have condemned such incidents and pledged their solidarity with Romania and other nations affected along the alliance’s eastern flank.
The North Atlantic Council also met on Wednesday to discuss the recent spate of incidents in Eastern Europe.
In a statement following the meeting, NATO said: “Allies reiterated that Russia bears full responsibility for the airspace violations, which are dangerous and unacceptable, and demonstrate Russia’s increasing tolerance for risk.”
“NATO stands ready to deter and defend against any aggression,” it added.
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