The Minister of Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation, José Manuel Albares, has had a conversation with his Romanian counterpart, Toiu Oana, after Spanish fighters integrated into the NATO mission shot down a drone that had violated Romanian airspace. The Romanian Foreign Affairs official has conveyed her recognition to Spain for this action.
"I spoke with Toiu Oana, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Romania. She thanked the intervention of the Spanish pilots of the NATO Air Police who shot down a drone in Romanian airspace," indicated the Foreign Affairs head in a message on 'X', where he also highlighted "the work and solidarity of Spain" that "are key to Euro-Atlantic security."
On the other hand, the Romanian Minister of Defense, Radu Miruta, explained this Sunday that two Spanish fighters deployed as part of the allied mission intercepted an unidentified drone after it entered Romanian airspace while they were conducting a surveillance patrol.
"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," confirmed the Romanian leader in a post on his social media.
According to Miruta's account, the aircraft, whose origin has not been detailed, was ultimately intercepted and destroyed between the towns of Baleni and Cudalbi, in the southeast of the country, near the border with Moldova.
"Congratulations to the Spanish pilots and the Romanian military personnel in the command center for a successful mission! Romania is defending its airspace, and our allies are by our side. Surveillance, rapid response, and allied solidarity: these are the concrete guarantees of our security," emphasized the Romanian Minister of Defense.
Romania, situated "on the front line of defense of the European Union" as emphasized by Miruta himself, shares a land border with Ukraine along approximately 614 kilometers and has suffered several incursions of Russian drones into its airspace since the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
For its part, NATO has ratified 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 Romanian authorities," she added, while emphasizing that the Atlantic Alliance is prepared to "respond to any potential threat, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, in order to safeguard our territory and protect our population."