Spanish F-18 jets and NH-90 helicopters scrambled as radar tracks two targets near Snake Island

Radar contacts near Snake Island

Romania's Ministry of National Defence (MApN) said its radar surveillance system detected an aerial target on Sunday afternoon, 8 November, roughly 30 kilometres east of Snake Island (Insula Șerpilor). The object was inside Ukrainian airspace, and the ministry said it later disappeared from radar east of Sulina. A little later, a second target appeared about 55 kilometres west of Snake Island, a position closer to the Romanian shoreline and the Danube mouths. None of the articles establish what the targets were, and the reports describe the contacts only in terms of their position and movement.

Spanish jets and helicopters scrambled

Two Spanish Air Force F-18 Hornet jets, deployed at the Mihail Kogălniceanu air base in Constanța county for Romania's reinforced air policing under allied command, took off to intercept the first target. After the second contact, two Spanish NH-90 helicopters lifted off from the same base to cover the new sector and check the low-altitude flight ceiling of the object. According to MApN, the crews flew patrol and reconnaissance missions in airspace next to Romania's territorial waters to prevent any breach of national territory. Mediafax and Digi24 both placed the aircraft launches on the afternoon of Sunday, 8 November.

Alerts issued in Tulcea county

The National Military Command Centre notified the General Inspectorate for Emergency Situations (IGSU), and a RO-Alert went out at 14:02 to residents of eastern Tulcea county. Digi24 instead places the first alert around 15:00, so the reports differ on the timing. Mediafax says the first air alarm in the county ended at 15:26.

A second RO-Alert followed for northern Tulcea county, which Digi24 says came less than two hours after the alert for the east. Mediafax described it as coming about an hour and a half after the first alarm ended. The message warned of a possible drone incursion, told people to keep calm and shelter in cellars or civil protection shelters, and advised anyone without a shelter to stay indoors, away from windows and exterior walls. ISU Tulcea explained the trigger in a statement:

“A Ro-Alert message was issued a short time ago for the northern area of Tulcea county.”

Open questions

MApN said it would return with more information, and the articles do not report any impact or damage on the ground. Libertatea reported that the military command had warned the emergency inspectorate that debris or fragments could threaten border communities, but the articles do not show whether any debris was found. The reporting also links the episode to continuing attacks on Ukrainian port infrastructure and shipping routes, which place the Black Sea basin in a volatile state. The ministry said it would keep monitoring the airspace and international waters through the national radar network.