a fighter jet flying through a cloudy sky

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Romanian F-16 Shoots Down Drone in NATO First

worldJul 26, 2026·373 words·3 min read

A Romanian F-16 fighter jet shot down an unauthorised drone on Friday, the first time, officials said, that a member of NATO (the North Atlantic Treaty Organization) had destroyed a drone inside its own airspace. Foreign Minister Oana Țoiu said the interception took place over an unpopulated area of Buzău County; ABC News reported that the drone came down near Padina, north-east of Bucharest.

Romania shares a long border with Ukraine. Since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, dozens of drones have crossed into Romanian airspace or left debris on the ground. In June a Ukrainian sea drone exploded at a Black Sea port. A month earlier a Russian drone went off course and hit an apartment block, hurting two people. Before Friday, Romanian and allied jets only followed these drones. They never shot one down.

The war went on during the same week. A Russian drone strike killed three delivery drivers in the Sumy region. An attack near Kyiv killed at least ten people. The United Nations Security Council will meet about Ukraine on Monday.

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