On March 17, Romanian fighter jets were deployed twice, both at night and in the evening, in response to a perceived threat from drones. Subsequently, debris from a downed drone was discovered within Romanian territory, close to the border with Ukraine’s Odesa region.
The Romanian Ministry of National Defense confirmed the incidents in two press releases. The jets, based at the 86th Air Base in Fetesti, took off around 01:40 and again at approximately 19:20. Residents in the northern part of Tulcea County were alerted to the potential danger during both instances.
“Air defense systems are on combat readiness and prepared to intervene depending on the situation’s development,” the Ministry stated during the evening alert.
Following the night incident, remnants of the aerial vehicle were located near the village of Plauru, opposite the Ukrainian town of Izmail. After the air alert was lifted around 03:00, a search team began an investigation at the site, which is ongoing.
On the same day, Russian forces targeted the infrastructure of a port along the Danube and attacked energy facilities in the region, causing damage to both infrastructure and residential buildings in Izmail.
This was not the first time in recent days that the Romanian military scrambled its F-16 Fighting Falcon jets; a similar response occurred just four days earlier, on March 13.
Romanian fighter jets were deployed twice on March 17 due to a drone threat, leading to the discovery of drone debris near the Ukrainian border. This incident follows recent Russian attacks on infrastructure in the region.