Romania shoots down drone in its airspace for first time

Romania shot down a drone in its airspace on Friday (July 24, 2026), its president said, a first since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

The NATO member bordering Ukraine has seen frequent drone incursions, including drones crashing on its soil, since the start of the war, but its forces had so far not shot any down.

The drone was downed around 114 kilometres (70 miles) from Bucharest, according to the Defence Ministry.

"We had a drone in our airspace. It was shot down a few minutes ago, around 11:00 am (0800 GMT) by a Romanian pilot flying an F-16," President Nicusor Dan told a press conference.

"It's important to note that the area was uninhabited, which is why the pilot was able to fire from above, and now teams from various institutions are investigating to provide all the details about the incident," he added.

The drone was hit near the village of Padina, the Defence Ministry said.

Surveillance systems first detected an aerial target at 09:39 a.m., and two Eurofighter Typhoon jets of the Italian Air Force and two F-16 fighter jets of the Romanian Air Force were sent to monitor the situation.

"At 11:02, a Romanian Air Force F-16 aircraft engaged the target and shot it down," the defence ministry said.

Drone incursions in Romania have been detected dozens of times since the start of the Ukraine war.

A drone smashed into an apartment building in May, wounding two people and drawing condemnation from NATO and the European Union, which blamed Russia and warned against further incursions.

Foreign Minister Oana Toiu said the shooting down of the drone was "the result of a dedicated pilot, the rapid response of the Romanian Armed Forces, and seamless coordination with Italian Eurofighters on NATO Air Policing duty".

Romania would "continue investing in modern air defence and anti-drone capabilities", she said in a post on X.

In 2025, the Romanian parliament adopted a law allowing the country to shoot down drones breaching its airspace.

The government vowed after the incursion in May to bolster Romania's air defences and accelerate the transfer of anti-drone capabilities.