Romanian authorities scrambled four fighter jets on 19 October after detecting a flying object unidentified that penetrated as far as 45 kilometers in the eastern region of the country.
The Romanian Ministry of Defense announced that a small aerial object, believed to be an unmanned aircraft, entered Romanian airspace in the early morning of October 19, prompting a military reaction.
According to the ministry the incident occurred during ongoing Russian attacks against Ukraine over night into the 19th October. The Russian forces launched an air assault against multiple oblasts in Ukraine. Over 100 air targets were detected, including 98 drones, and six Kh-59/69 missiles.
The Romanian Defense Ministry reported that at around 2:30am, the radar surveillance system of the Romanian Army detected “a small target” approximately 45 km east of the Romanian coastal city.
According to the ministry two F-18 aircraft from the Spanish Air Force, and two F-16 aircraft from the Romanian Air Force participated in the mission.
Radar signal at 4 am allegedly indicated crossing of Romanian land border.
The ministry reported a maximum penetration depth of 19 kilometers into the national territory. They did note that “the combat plane had no visual contact with it at all points on the evolution route.”
Around 4:30 am, the radar signal was reported to have been lost by the surveillance system.
This incident is similar to one that occurred on 17 October when Romania scrambled fighters in response a small drone infringing its airspace.
Over the past year and half, Russian drone fragments have repeatedly fallen on the territory of the European Union and NATO country, which shares a border with Ukraine of 650 km (400 miles). This is because Russia has been attacking Ukrainian port infrastructure.
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