Romanian F-16 fighter jets shot down three drones that breached Romanian airspace on three consecutive days from July 24 to July 26, 2026, officials said [1, 2, 3].

The first drone was intercepted on July 24 near Padina village in Buzau County. It was detected by radar around 09:30 local time and shot down over an uninhabited wheat field, causing no injuries or damage [1, 4, 5, 6]. President Nicusor Dan identified the drone as a Shahed-type unmanned aerial vehicle commonly used by Russian forces. He called the incursions "inadmissible and intolerable" given Romania is NATO and EU airspace [3, 7, 8, 9, 10]. He said, "Our airspace had a drone. A Romanian F-16 pilot shot it down around 11 a.m. The area was uninhabited so the pilot could shoot from above" and teams were investigating the incident [1].

The second drone was shot down on July 25 near Sfantu Gheorghe in the Danube Delta, while the third drone was intercepted on July 26 about 12 km northeast of Sulina over the Black Sea territorial waters [2, 3, 7, 8, 9, 10].

Romania shares a 650-km land border with Ukraine and has reported around 33 unauthorized drone incursions since Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine [1, 3, 10]. In May 2026, a Russian drone struck a residential building in the Romanian town of Galati, injuring two people [1, 2, 7, 8, 10].

Romania adopted a law in 2025 allowing drones breaching its airspace to be shot down and recently deployed US-made Merops AI-powered counter-drone systems to bolster defenses [7, 9]. On July 27, Romania expelled a Russian diplomat in response to repeated drone airspace violations [11].

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova rejected the accusations, calling them "unfounded claims" and accusing Romanian leaders of propaganda [12]. NATO military spokesperson Martín O'Donnell described the shootdowns as part of wider efforts by NATO and allies to enhance air defense capabilities [3].

Romanian Defence Minister Radu Miruta said, "Romania will continue to firmly defend its sovereignty and airspace but these provocations must stop" [3, 7, 10].

Romania has summoned the Russian ambassador to protest the repeated drone incursions [3, 7, 11, 8, 9, 10]. Authorities continue to investigate the incidents and monitor their airspace closely.