The Minister of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Albares, has had a conversation with his Romanian counterpart, Toiu Oana, after Spanish fighters deployed in NATO participated in the downing of a drone that had violated Romanian airspace. The Romanian minister has expressed her gratitude to Spain for this action.
"I have spoken with Toiu Oana, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Romania. She has thanked the intervention of the Spanish pilots of the NATO Air Policing who have downed a drone in Romanian airspace," the head of Spanish diplomacy has pointed out on his social media, where he has also defended "the work and solidarity of Spain" that "are key to Euro-Atlantic security."
Oana has also confirmed on her social media the call with Albares, in which she conveyed to her counterpart the "concrete contribution to the security of Romania and the Allies" by Spain.
"Last night, an F-18 aircraft of the Spanish Air and Space Forces, which was carrying out NATO Enhanced Air Policing missions from Mihail Kogalniceanu airbase, intercepted and downed, in coordination with the Romanian command center and under safe conditions, a drone that had entered Romanian airspace," the Romanian minister has reported.
Oana has described the Spanish Armed Forces as "a trusted ally" for Bucharest and has emphasized this bond "Thirteen years after the Strategic Partnership" between both countries. In her opinion, "This is its meaning in practice. We will continue to work hand in hand, as strategic partners, NATO allies, and European partners, to consolidate our common security," she has stated, insisting that the security of the member states of the Atlantic Alliance is "indivisible."
The Romanian Minister of Defense, Radu Miruta, has detailed that two Spanish fighters integrated into the NATO mission reacted to the incursion of an unidentified drone during a patrol mission.
"At 04:44, the target was detected entering Romanian national airspace, 24 kilometers north of Galati. At that moment, two Spanish F-18 fighter jets, which had already been put on alert as a precautionary measure, received authorization to intervene," the Romanian leader has confirmed in a post on his social media.
According to Miruta, the drone —of which he has not specified the origin— was intercepted and destroyed between the localities of Baleni and Cudalbi, in the southeast of the country, near the border with Moldova.
Romania, located "on the front line of defense of the European Union" according to the minister himself, shares about 614 kilometers of land border with Ukraine and has suffered several violations of its airspace by Russian drones since the beginning of Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
On the other hand, NATO has confirmed that a Spanish F-18 fighter has been "mobilized and that it has shot down a drone over Romanian airspace," as indicated by its spokesperson, Allison Hart, to Europa Press.
"The aircraft was operating under NATO command. An investigation is underway and NATO remains in close contact with the Romanian authorities," she added, while assuring that the Atlantic Alliance is ready to "respond to any potential threat, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, in order to safeguard our territory and protect our population."