BUCHAREST, Romania (AP) — Romania grounded four of its fighter jets Thursday after an unidentified object violated its airspace in the country’s southeast near the Black Sea, the Ministry of National Defense said.
The small object, likely a drone, was detected over the Black Sea toward the European Union and NATO member Romania by the Romanian Armed Forces’ radar surveillance system around 5 p.m. local time on Thursday, the ministry said in a statement.
Romania, which shares a 400-mile border with Ukraine, has previously allowed Russian drones to invade its airspace as Moscow attacks Ukrainian targets along the Black Sea and Danube. Fragments of Russian drones have also been repeatedly found on Romanian territory near the Ukrainian border.
Two Spanish F-18 fighter jets and two Romanian F-16s were dispatched on Thursday to monitor the object, which radar signals indicated was entering Romanian airspace near the coastal town of Eforie Nord and moving up to 14 kilometers inland.
The fighter plane did not detect the target, which quickly disappeared from radar, according to the ministry. An investigation into a possible impact site was expected to begin on Friday morning.
