The Ministry of National Defense (MoND) stated that “on Thursday, October 17, at around 5:00 PM, the Romanian Army’s radar surveillance system detected a small aerial target in an area over the Black Sea, approximately 150 km east of the town Mihail Kogălniceanu, Constanța County.”
The aerial target was moving on a course toward Romania’s state border. The radar signal indicated that it crossed into Romanian airspace around 7:00 PM, near Eforie Nord, and then moved towards Topraisar, penetrating up to 14 km into national territory. The surveillance system lost the radar signal east of Amzacea around 7:20 PM.
To monitor the situation, two F-18 aircraft of the Spanish Air Force were successively launched from Mihail Kogălniceanu Air Base, along with two F-16 aircraft of the Romanian Air Force from Borcea Air Base 86. “The fighter jets had no visual contact with the target at any point along its flight path,” MoND added.
“The air alert was lifted at 8:15 PM, and the fighter aircraft returned to their respective bases. Based on available data, there is no indication of a possible impact zone within the national territory. The Ministry of National Defense forces will conduct investigations in the area in the morning,” the Ministry stated in its concluding report.
NATO chief Mark Rutte on Friday praised the Romanian authorities and the Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR) for the quick and effective response to the drone that entered Romania’s national airspace on Thursday. “We will continue to increase surveillance, share information and coordinate individual and collective responses,” Rutte said.
NATO supports Romania in addressing the security challenges posed by this breach, he added. Also on Friday, the NATO leader said that “Russia may make noise, but NATO is strong,” the statement coming after he chaired his first meeting of NATO defense ministers in Brussels, where he condemned the “increasingly irresponsible rhetoric ” of Russian President Vladimir Putin. He added that NATO allies are working hard to support Ukraine in the coming winter and that the main objective of the meeting was to get massive military aid to Ukraine.
Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu said on Friday that, in the case of the drone alert on Thursday evening, from Constanţa, all measures were taken “so that there is no danger”. He explained that in this case it is to be determined whether it was a cyber challenge, since there was no visual contact of the pilots with that drone.
Later on Thursday evening, PM Ciolacu had said that the drone’s entry into Romanian airspace posed no danger and that the situation was fully under control as it was monitored. During a broadcast on Romania TV, Ciolacu mentioned that procedures require the population to be alerted via the Ro-Alert system. Last month, the Prime Minister also downplayed the entry of Russian drones into Romanian airspace.
The Constanta Emergency County Inspectorate has issued a Ro-Alert message for the population of Constanta, the warning is valid for at least an hour and a half: “There is a possibility of some objects falling from the airspace. Keep calm! Take shelter in cellars or civil protection shelters. If you don’t have shelter, stay indoors, away from windows and exterior walls.”
It is the first time such a message has been issued at this time, so early. Also, in the case of such attacks, the messages were usually issued for Tulcea, not Constanța. For Constanța county, the only Ro-Alert issued so far, regarding the war in Ukraine, was when a group of Russian drones entered Romania’s airspace, up to Lake Razim, and the Romanian Army raised F-16 aircraft, at the beginning of September.
Are you sure it wasn’t a migrating pelecan or a disoriented flamingo? :))