A Spanish fighter jet on Sunday (August 16, 2026) shot down a drone that had breached Romanian airspace near the border with Ukraine and Moldova, national authorities and NATO said.
The interception of the drone — which entered from Moldova — was carried out by an F-18, deployed on NATO duties, at 5:01 am (0201 GMT), the Romanian defence ministry said in a statement. NATO Air Command said on X that the mission involved two F-18s, which are part of a Spanish contingent of around 200 personnel and 11 aircraft based in Romania. And, in a separate incident on Sunday (August 16, 2026) announced by the defence ministry, drone debris was found in the Black Sea, off Romania’s city of Constanta. On Friday (August 14, 2026), NATO said Italian jets operating under the alliance’s air-policing mission shot down a drone that entered Latvian airspace.
Spain’s Defence Ministry said on X that its air force had shown “its outstanding professionalism in the defence of European airspace”. Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares said he had spoken with his Romanian counterpart Oana Toiu, who thanked the pilots.
