Spanish F-18 on NATO mission shoots down drone over Romania, fourth interception in 2026

Drone breach and interception

A drone identified by Moldovan authorities as a Shahed 138 (Geran 2) entered Romanian airspace from Moldova on Sunday, 16 August 2026, and was shot down by a Spanish F-18 fighter jet on a NATO air policing mission. Romanian radars detected the drone at 04:44, approximately 24 km north of the city of Galati, near the border with Moldova and Ukraine. Two Spanish F-18s, already on alert as a precautionary measure, were scrambled and received authorization to engage. The drone was shot down at 05:01, 17 minutes after detection, with debris falling in an uninhabited area between the villages of Băleni and Cudalbi in Galati county.

Moldovan tracking

Moldova's Defence Ministry said the drone was detected by its air surveillance systems at 04:31, travelling from the Ukrainian locality of Cotlovina in the Reni region. It crossed Moldovan airspace through the village of Etulia in the Găgăuzia administrative unit. At 04:40, a border patrol heard the drone near the localities of Cîșmichioi in Moldova and Dolinskoe in Ukraine. The drone left Moldovan airspace at 04:49 near Slobozia Mare, Cahul district, heading toward the Șivița area in Galati county. Moldovan authorities said the drone entered the country's airspace without authorization following Russian air attacks on Ukraine.

NATO response and investigation

The Romanian defence ministry did not specify the origin of the drone, saying only that its radars detected it entering from Moldova. NATO spokesperson Allison Hart confirmed that a Spanish F-18 operating under NATO command shot down the drone over Romanian airspace. NATO official Martin O'Donnell said additional details remain under investigation but the drone appears to be Russian. NATO's Allied Air Command published footage on social media platform X showing the drone through a Spanish fighter's night-vision targeting system before it was destroyed. The operation was coordinated through NATO's Combined Air Operations Centre at Torrejón, Spain. Hart said the alliance is ready to respond to any potential threat, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, to safeguard allied territory and protect populations.

“The aircraft was operating under NATO command. An investigation is underway, and the Alliance remains in close contact with the Romanian authorities.”

Romanian defence minister Miruta, who announced the interception on social media, praised the Spanish pilots and Romanian military personnel at the command centre.

“Congratulations to the Spanish pilots and the Romanian military personnel at the command centre for a successful mission! Romania is defending its airspace, and our allies are at our side. Vigilance, rapid response and allied solidarity: these are the concrete guarantees of our security.”

Spanish deployment

The Spanish F-18s are part of a broader Spanish Air and Space Forces contingent deployed to the 57th Air Base at Mihail Kogalniceanu. The contingent includes seven F-18 fighter jets, three NH-90 helicopters for counter-drone operations, one A400M refuelling aircraft, and approximately 200 military personnel. The aircraft arrived at the base at the beginning of August. NATO stated that with the transition from air policing to air defence, the alliance can now respond more flexibly to a wider range of threats using a layered, 360-degree approach across all operational domains.

Pattern of incursions

This is the fourth drone shot down over Romanian airspace in 2026. The first three were shot down by Romanian F-16 pilots on 24, 25 and 26 July 2026, the first time Romanian forces downed drones since the start of Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Earlier in the year, a Russian drone crashed into an apartment block in Galati during an overnight attack on Ukraine, injuring two people. Romania shares a 614 km land border with Ukraine and has experienced repeated airspace breaches over the past four years. On Friday, Italian fighters on a NATO surveillance mission shot down a drone that entered Latvian airspace.

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