A Romanian Air Force F-16 fighter destroyed a naval drone loaded with explosives near the Neptun Deep platform in the Black Sea on Thursday, August 20, the Ministry of National Defense announced. The drone was hit with the fighter’s onboard cannon after its presence was signaled in Romania’s exclusive economic zone, and an EOD team of the Romanian Naval Forces was dispatched to the area to check the wreckage and rule out any remaining danger.
🛡️ First aerial intercept of its kind for Romania
Defense Minister Radu Miruță announced that the drone was destroyed in the vicinity of the Neptun Deep platform, where gas extraction works are underway. The naval drone was spotted around 06:28 in the morning by a commercial vessel, drifting a few hundred meters from the platform’s works, about 80 miles east of Constanța. The Coast Guard informed the Ministry of National Defense, which set up a command cell and requested that command be transferred to the Romanian Army at NATO level.
After analyses carried out in coordination with the President of Romania, the decision was made to destroy the drone, in order to protect the lives of the few hundred people working on the platform and to secure critical infrastructure. Two Romanian F-16 fighters were scrambled with orders to fire, and the drone was destroyed safely. This is the first naval drone destroyed in Romania’s airspace or waters — the previous four drones shot down were aerial ones. The first three aerial drones were downed by Romanian pilots on July 24, 25 and 26 near Padina, Sfântu Gheorghe and Sulina, while a fourth was shot down on August 16 by a Spanish F-18 near Galați.
Through the direct communication channel recently established with the Ukrainian side, Romanian officials received confirmation that the drone was not of Ukrainian origin.
🏗️ Neptun Deep, a priority for national security
The Neptun Deep perimeter is one of Romania’s most important energy projects in the Black Sea, located around 160 kilometers offshore, in the area of Tuzla. The incident did not affect the development works: OMV Petrom representatives stated that activities continue according to schedule. President Nicușor Dan congratulated the Army and the pilots of the two F-16 fighters, as well as the Coast Guard for promptly signaling the drone’s presence in the area.
🔍 What’s next
- Defense officials continue to assess the incident and maintain heightened surveillance in the Black Sea area.
- An EOD team of the Naval Forces carried out checks on the destroyed drone to ensure it posed no further danger to navigation or the platform.
- The successful interception demonstrates Romania’s capability to protect its critical energy infrastructure and respond rapidly to threats in its exclusive economic zone.
Photo: MApN
