Mysterious aerial intrusions tested Romanian air defence agility
Since Thursday, the Romanian Ministry of Defence has twice reported the presence of a "small flying object" that entered the country's airspace over the Black Sea. Four fighter jets were scrambled from Romanian bases.
19 October 2024 06:54
On the night from Friday to Saturday, military radar systems detected a small aerial object, located about 45 kilometres east of Sfantu Gheorghe in Tulcea County.
"In response, to monitor the situation, an F-18 of the Spanish Air Force was scrambled from the 57th Air Base Mihail Kogalniceanu, followed by two F-16 aircraft of the Romanian Air Force from the 86th Air Base Borcea," reported the Romanian Ministry of Defense.
The planes tracked the object on radar; however, they could not make visual contact. After about half an hour, around 11:30 PM Eastern Time, the radar system lost the signal south of the town of Cogealac.
"The range of penetration into Romanian airspace was 19 kilometres," was added in the statement.
Warning to residents
According to the Ministry of Defense, when the statement was issued, there was no data on potential impact zones or threats within Romania.
However, a warning was issued to residents under the Ro-Alert system in the region of the incident.
Previous incident
A similar situation occurred on Thursday. Over the Black Sea, Romanian radar systems recorded a "small flying object" that crossed into the country's airspace to a depth of 14 kilometres.
Fighter jets were scrambled in accordance with NATO's air police protocol and then under national command.
