Romania scrambles two F-16s and alerts Iași over drone near Moldova border

Alert in Iași and Neamț

On Saturday, 31 October, Romanian radar picked up an air target flying 10 km from the border with the Republic of Moldova, the Ministry of National Defence (MApN) said. Two F-16 fighters of the Romanian Air Force, on air police duty, took off from Air Base 71 at Câmpia Turzii. At 17:04 the National Military Command Centre asked the General Inspectorate for Emergency Situations (IGSU) to alert people in northern Iași county, and an RO-Alert warning was sent. Residents of Piatra Neamț, in Neamț county, received a similar message. The alert warned of a possible drone incursion, told people to stay calm, and advised them to take cover in cellars or civil protection shelters, or to stay indoors away from windows and outside walls if no shelter was available. It did not name the affected area or how long the alert would last.

Moldova's account

Moldova's Ministry of Defence reported that a drone entered its airspace at 16:24 from the direction of Semionovca in Ukraine's Odesa region, heading for Plopi in Rîbnița district, in the Transnistrian region. The ministry linked the incident to massive Russian attacks on Ukraine. It restricted airspace over the north of the country at 16:46 and over the centre at 16:52. The ministry also said the drone had been identified near Bănești in Telenești district, without giving a time for that identification. The National Army's Air Operations Centre said it would keep monitoring the airspace in coordination with the competent authorities and partners.

Earlier incidents in the region

Adevărul described Saturday's alert as the second of its kind in Iași county. In September, residents of five northern counties, Iași, Botoșani, Neamț, Vaslui and Suceava, received RO-Alert messages after a drone that reportedly came from Moldova was detected near the border. On 8 September a drone entered Romanian airspace roughly 30 km south-east of Iași after being spotted near Chișinău, and the defence ministry sent two aircraft to monitor the situation. Moldovan authorities later said that drone had crashed near Mihăilenii Vechi after returning to Moldovan airspace, and experts found metal balls in the impact crater, which the authorities described as destruction elements. A separate incident on 16 October saw a drone that had entered Moldovan airspace fall and explode outside Codrenii Noi.

1. September 2026RO-Alert sent to five northern counties after a drone reportedly from Moldova was detected near the border
2. Sep 8, 2026Drone enters Romanian airspace about 30 km south-east of Iași after being spotted near Chișinău
3. Oct 16, 2026Drone that had entered Moldovan airspace falls and explodes outside Codrenii Noi

Open questions

The Romanian ministry describes the target as 10 km from the border and does not say it crossed into Romanian territory. The RO-Alert text named neither the affected area nor the duration of the warning. The Moldovan statement gives the drone's entry point, its heading and the area where it was identified, but the sources do not give a time for when it left the airspace. The sources do not report damage or injuries from Saturday's incident.