Overview
- Romanian forces shot down a drone on Friday, July 24, near the village of Padina after radar detection and the deployment of Italian Eurofighters followed by Romanian F-16s, with debris falling in a wheat field and no reported injuries.
- Defense Minister Radu Mirata announced a second interception on Saturday, July 25, when a Romanian F-16 destroyed a drone west of Sfantu Gheorghe in the Danube delta following radar tracking.
- Authorities are analysing wreckage from both incidents under an investigative process started on site, and military leaders say origin and intent remain unconfirmed while noting visual similarities to Shahed‑type attack drones.
- Bucharest said it acted under a 2025 law that authorises the interception and destruction of drones violating national airspace, a step officials link to growing civilian risk after an earlier May crash in Galați that injured two people.
- NATO and the EU have previously blamed Russia for many incursions in the region, and the two shootdowns increase pressure on allies to sharpen air policing, expand surveillance, and weigh political or military responses if attribution is confirmed.