Romania scrambles fighter jets after aerial target detected over Black Sea
Romanian radar detected an unidentified aerial target near Ukraine's Zmiinyi Island on Thursday, prompting fighter jets to scramble and an alert to be sent to residents. The incident follows drone debris found on Romanian and Bulgarian beaches the previous day.
Romania's airspace surveillance system detected an unidentified aerial target at 18:27 on Thursday, August 27, located about 33 kilometers north of Ukraine's Zmiinyi (Snake) Island in the Black Sea. The country's Defence Ministry reported the detection via social media, according to Yevropeiska Pravda.
At 18:41, two Spanish Air and Space Force F-18 fighter jets were scrambled to monitor the situation. After receiving information from the National Military Command Center, the General Inspectorate for Emergency Situations sent an RO-Alert message at 18:44 to residents in the northern part of Tulcea county.
Prior incidents
On Wednesday, August 26, several RO-Alert messages had already been sent for Tulcea county. At the time, the Defence Ministry said no violations of Romanian airspace had been reported. An on-site investigation is underway to determine whether drone debris reached the Plaur area and whether it is linked to a fire there.
On Wednesday, a fragment of an unidentified drone was found on a beach in Olimp, in Romania's Constanta county. The same day, drone debris was also discovered on several beaches in Bulgaria.
