Romania Scrambles Jets After Drones Near Ukraine Border

The Ministry of National Defense of Romania coordinated multiple airspace responses on August 24 and 25, 2026, following the detection of unidentified aerial targets near the border with Ukraine.

On August 24, a drone entered Moldovan airspace at 5:55 a.m. from the Odesa region of Ukraine, traveling through Vulcănești and exiting near Pașcani toward Romania. Moldovan authorities restricted southern airspace for 15 minutes, attributing the breach to Russian air attacks on Ukraine. Romanian radar detected the signal near Targu Bujor in Galati County, prompting the Romanian Air Force to scramble two F-16 fighter jets and an IAR-330 SOCAT helicopter from Borcea Air Base. A RO-Alert was issued to the local population until 8:52 a.m., though no debris or impact was found on Romanian soil.

The following morning, August 25, Romanian authorities detected another unidentified air target approximately 4 kilometers east of Vilkovo, Ukraine. Two Spanish F-18 fighter jets patrolling Romanian airspace deployed from the 57th Air Base Mihail Kogalniceanu to monitor the target. A RO-Alert was issued in northern Tulcea County and lifted at 9:04 a.m. The Romanian Defence Ministry reported that no violation of national airspace occurred during this second incident.