Photo: Romania’s Ministry of Defence
Romania’s military reportedly spent around €1.5 million ($1.7 million) over a three-day period to intercept and destroy three Russian drones that breached its airspace.
Most of the cost came from AIM-9X air-to-air missiles launched by Romanian F-16 fighter jets during the interceptions, News.Az reports, citing Kyiv Post.
Each AIM-9X missile costs approximately $400,000, and Romanian forces fired three of them to destroy the drones, bringing the missile bill alone to around $1.2 million.
The total cost rose to about €1.5 million ($1.7 million) after accounting for F-16 flight hours and aircraft maintenance.
Romania’s defense ministry said protecting civilians remains the priority despite the high costs, but acknowledged such spending would be difficult to sustain if Russian drones continue entering Romanian airspace at the current pace.