An unidentified aircraft entered Romanian airspace from neighboring Moldova about 24 kilometers north of Galați at 04:44 local time on August 16, 2026. The intruder was initially detected by Romania's air-surveillance system.
A pair of Spanish F/A-18 fighters performing NATO air-policing duties in Romania tracked the target on radar. After receiving engagement authorization, a Spanish F/A-18 destroyed the drone at 05:01 local time, with wreckage believed to have landed in an uninhabited area between two villages.
Romania did not immediately identify the origin of the aircraft. NATO spokesman Colonel Martin O'Donnell subsequently stated that the drone appears to be Russian.
