A Romanian F-16 fighter jet shot down a drone that entered the country’s airspace without authorization Friday, marking the first time the NATO member has intercepted and destroyed a drone inside its national airspace, authorities said.Romanian officials have not yet identified the drone’s origin or purpose.Romania’s army chief said pilots described it as appearing to be a Shahed-type drone, Reuters reported, the Iran-designed attack drone widely used by Russia against Ukraine. The incident carries direct implications for the U.S.
and its NATO allies, as repeated airspace breaches along the alliance’s eastern flank have fueled concerns that Russia’s war in Ukraine could spill across NATO borders.Romania, which borders Ukraine, has reported dozens of drone incursions or debris incidents since Moscow launched its full-scale invasion in 2022.Romanian Foreign Minister Oana Țoiu said the interception took place over an unpopulated area in Buzău County.REPORT WARNS RUSSIA USING SHADOW FLEET TO PROBE NATO DRONE DEFENSESAn F-16 fighter jet takes part in the NATO Air Shielding exercise near the air base in Lask, central Poland, Oct.
12, 2022.(Radoslaw Jozwiak/AFP via Getty Images)"Today at 11:02 AM, a Romanian pilot flying an F-16 fighter jet shot down a drone that had entered our airspace without authorization — the first time a drone has been intercepted and destroyed in Romania's national airspace," Țoiu wrote on X.Țoiu previously told Fox News Digital July 2 that Russian drones had been detected inside Ukraine roughly 19 miles from Romania’s border, prompting two Royal Air Force Eurofighter Typhoon jets operating from Romania’s 86th Air Base in Fetești to scramble under NATO’s Enhanced Air Policing mission.
A Romanian Air Force IAR 330 Puma helicopter was also deployed, she said at the time.THE TWO MOST IMPORTANT AMERICAN WEAPONS SYSTEMS NATO IS EAGER TO HAVEExplosion following what Romania's defense ministry says was a detonation of Russian dr...