Air Forces monitor drone in national and Moldovan airspace

Several military aircraft monitored European airspace on the night of Tuesday to Wednesday, tracking a drone that flew over an area of both the Republic of Moldova and Ukrainian airspace amid a new Russian attack against Ukraine, according to a National Defence Ministry (MApN) press release.

The first aircraft to monitor the European Union’s border area were two German Eurofighter Typhoon combat planes on enhanced Air Policing duty, which took off from the 57th Mihail Kogalniceanu Air Base at 00:25.

The Inspectorate General for Emergency Situations (IGSU) sent an RO-ALERT message at 00:20 to the population of northern Tulcea County and for a few minutes the signal of a drone was detected penetrating around eight kilometres into national airspace from Valcov, a locality on the Ukrainian bank of the Danube, towards Periprava and Chilia Veche, where it disappeared from radar. The latter two villages are on the Romanian bank of the Danube.

‘The drone reappeared intermittently on radar for around 12 minutes from Colibasi in the Republic of Moldova towards Foltesti in Galati County and later near the locality of Oancea in the Republic of Moldova, and an RO-ALERT message was sent to northern Galati County at 00:59. Two more aircraft, F-16s of the Romanian Air Force, were scrambled from the 71st Air Base at Campia Turzii,’ the release also reads.

The Eurofighters landed back at Mihail Kogalniceanu at 01:50 and the Romanian Air Force F-16s returned to Campia Turzii at around 02:30.

‘No cases of any aerial vehicle impacting the ground have been reported. Specialist teams are prepared to begin ground searches,’ the National Defence Ministry added. AGERPRES (RO – writing by: Luisiana Bigea; EN – writing by: Adina Panaitescu)