Romania shot down drones entering its airspace three times within three days; NATO suspects they were of Russian origin.

Foreign media: On July 26 (Sunday), a Romanian F-16 fighter jet detected an unauthorized drone entering Romanian airspace over the Black Sea, and shot it down just five minutes later. This marks the third time Romania has shot down a drone within three days.

Romanian Foreign Minister Teodor Meleșcanu stated that due to Russia's "repeated violations" of airspace, Romania will summon the Russian ambassador to Bucharest. President Klaus Iohannis said, based on investigations, the drone shot down on Friday was a "Shahed"-type drone used by Russia in its war against Ukraine. Investigations into the drones shot down on Saturday and Sunday are still ongoing. On the social platform X, he described Russia’s continued incursions into Romanian airspace—also NATO and EU airspace—as “unacceptable and intolerable.”

NATO senior military spokesperson Martin O’Donnell said the drone shot down on Sunday also appears to be of “Russian origin.” He added that with such incidents increasing, Romania and other NATO countries are actively procuring ground-based interception systems to strengthen their air defense capabilities. Romania has already integrated the U.S.-made AI-powered anti-drone system “Merops” into its air defense network by the end of June; this system is specifically designed to intercept small, low-flying targets.

Original article: toutiao.com/article/1871794387771404/

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