Spanish F-18 fighters scrambled after Romanian radar spots drone near Tulcea border
Romania's defence ministry detected an unmanned aerial vehicle approaching from Ukraine and launched two Spanish F-18s from Mihail Kogălniceanu Base.
Early Saturday morning, Romania's defence radar picked up an aerial target traveling from Ukrainian airspace toward the Romanian border near Plauru in Tulcea County. The National Military Command Center promptly notified the General Inspectorate for Emergency Situations, which sent out a RO-Alert to residents of northern Tulcea at 01:54. In response, two F-18 aircraft belonging to the Spanish Air and Space Force, assigned to the reinforced air police, were launched from the 57th Air Base Mihail Kogălniceanu.
The operation concluded without any reported breach of Romanian airspace, and the public alert was cancelled at 02:30. The incident underscores ongoing regional monitoring amid heightened tensions.
Why it matters
It highlights cross-border air surveillance and NATO partner cooperation in a tense region.
In this story
