Russian drones disrupt Romanian borders amid Ukraine conflict

The wreckage of a Shahed kamikaze drone was found within Romanian territory, reports the Militarny portal. In total, three such unmanned aerial vehicles were said to have fallen in Romania. This weapon was used by the Russians to strike Odesa on the night of July 24. Bucharest decided to scramble F-16 fighter jets to monitor the air situation at the border with Ukraine.

During the ongoing conflict with Ukraine, the Russians have repeatedly "lost" their own weapons. Sometimes, these fell due to malfunctions on the territory of the defending country, but usually, these malfunctions resulted in ammunition crashes in Russia. This was the case, for example, with the Iranian-made Mohajer-6 drone, which fell somewhere in the Russian Federation in mid-May of this year. On other occasions, the Russians accidentally dropped FAB family bombs, Kh-35 missiles or Kalibr rockets on their own country.

Though Russian weapons most often fall in Ukraine or Russia, there are occasional incidents where the aggressor's ammunition falls outside the borders of these two countries. Such an incident occurred on Thursday, July 24, where wreckage of a Russian-made Iranian Shahed drone (known as Geran-2) was identified on the Romanian side of the border with Ukraine. This is not the first time that weapons launched by Russians have been found in Romania. A similar situation occurred at the end of March this year.

Romanian residents received alerts two nights in a row related to threats from shelling conducted by the Russians towards Ukraine. The Romanian armed forces also scrambled their fighter jets to monitor the air situation. Ukrainian air forces informed that three Shahed-136 drones crossed the border into Romania. Militarny portal notes that one wreckage was found.

The weapon whose wreckage was found in Romania and aimed at Ukraine is indeed equipment manufactured by Iran. The Iran Aircraft Manufacturing Industries Corporation is responsible for its production. In Russia, these Shahed-136s are known as Geran-2.

The Shaheds produced today and used by the Russians are powered by a copy of the German Limbach L550E engine, known as the Mado MD550. This unit, generating about 50 hp (37 kW), can propel the drone to speeds of approximately 185 km/h (115 mph) and, according to some sources, allows the Shahed to reach a distance of even 2,000 km (1,240 miles). However, a more probable specification is about 1,000 km (620 miles) of range.

The Geran-2 measures about 3.3 metres (11 feet) in length, while its wings have a span of 2.4 metres (8 feet). The total weight of this kamikaze construction is 200 kg (440 pounds), with the warhead weighing around 40 kg (88 pounds). In some versions of the Shaheds, the Russians also install Kometa receivers, which are used to mitigate the effects of jamming by Ukrainian electronic warfare systems.