Spanish EF-18 Fighters Deployed in Romania Placed on Alert Due to Drone Incursion from Ukraine
Spanish EF-18 fighters deployed in Romania were put on alert after a group of airborne targets was detected near the border with Ukraine, leading to the entry of a drone into Romanian airspace.
The Spanish EF-18 fighters deployed in Romania were placed on alert during the early hours of the morning due to the detection of a group of airborne targets near the border with Ukraine. This situation led to the entry of a drone into Romanian airspace, putting the surveillance and response capabilities of the NATO eastern flank to the test.
## Background According to the Romanian Ministry of Defence, the military radar system detected a group of airborne targets north of Tulcea County at 02:23 hours. In response, two Spanish F-18 fighters were sent to monitor the situation, while the Romanian Air Force deployed an IAR-330 SOCAT helicopter for an aerial reconnaissance mission.
## Incident Details At 03:21 hours, one of the drones entered Romanian national airspace, approximately 13 kilometres east of the city of Galați. Three minutes later, the IAR-330 SOCAT crew reported that the target had crashed into the ground about four kilometres northeast of Grindu, in Tulcea County, within an uninhabited area. The crash caused a fire that extinguished itself, with no casualties or material damage reported.
## Response and Investigation The incident led to the activation of public alert measures in the affected area, as military and search teams were dispatched to the crash site. Specialists from the Romanian Ministry of Defence and the Border Police later inspected and secured the area, determining that the drone wreckage did not pose an explosion risk. The material was removed by the Border Police for further investigation, while the case was handed over to the Prosecutor's Office attached to the Court of Appeal of Constanța. The air alert ended at 03:52 hours.
The Spanish Chief of Defence Staff confirmed the activation of a new 'Alpha Scramble' for the F-18 fighters of the 'Paznic' Tactical Air Detachment, approximately at 02:30 hours. The institution highlighted that the response allowed the Spanish forces deployed in Romania to demonstrate their permanent reaction capability, with coordination between the Bucharest Control Centre and the Combined Air Operations Centre in Torrejón.
The episode highlights the importance of reinforced air policing deployments by NATO in its eastern flank, particularly in the face of the possibility of drones linked to operations in Ukraine approaching or accidentally entering the airspace of member countries. In this case, the Spanish EF-18 fighters were used alongside Romanian forces to monitor the situation and respond to the incursion, without any consequences reported for the local population.
