Romania has promptly informed the NATO members about allied and regional measures taken following the recent UAV violation of its airspace, the National Defense Ministry (MApN) said in a release on Friday. According to the document, the allies and NATO's Secretary General were appreciative of the operativeness of the Romanian authorities and the Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR), thus confirming Romania and NATO's response capacity to such incidents.
"Russia's war against Ukraine has resulted in multiple NATO airspace violations, including just yesterday (Thursday - Ed. note) in Romania. Let me express NATO's solidarity with Romania and also commend the Romanian authorities and SACEUR for the quick and effective response to this incident," said North Atlantic Alliance Secretary General Mark Rutte on the second day of the meetings of NATO Defense Ministers in Brussels.
Given the recent illegal incursions of Russian drones into allied airspace, including in Romania, Poland and Latvia, the Defense ministers meeting in Brussels also discussed possible response measures coordinated across NATO.
"We informed our partners that we support efforts to strengthen NATO's integrated air and missile defense (IAMD), including through the rapid implementation of the IAMD rotational model," said Romanian Defense Minister Angel Tilvar as cited in the release.
He emphasized that the North Atlantic Alliance must be prepared to quickly and efficiently respond to any provocation in the Black Sea region, in order to ensure the security of all allies.
"The Russian Federation's war of aggression in Ukraine and Russia's increasingly provocative attitude in the region pose direct threats to the stability of NATO's eastern flank. The Black Sea region is not only a strategic point for Romania's defense, but also an essential region for the defense of the entire Euro-Atlantic space. NATO must be prepared to respond quickly and efficiently to any challenge in this area, in order to ensure the security of all allies," said Tilvar, who participated on Thursday and Friday in the meeting of NATO Defense ministers in Brussels.
On the second day of the meeting, the Romanian official attended the North Atlantic Council session dedicated to the evaluation and adaptation of NATO's deterrence and defense posture, as well as the implementation of the decisions adopted at the 75th Anniversary Summit in Washington.
The Romanian Defense minister emphasized the importance of continuing efforts to accelerate the adjustment of the Alliance's deterrence and defense posture, with an emphasis on ensuring the forces and capabilities needed to implement regional defense plans.
The meeting highlighted the firm commitment of NATO member states to ensuring the stability and security of the region and to supporting Ukraine's defense efforts against external aggression.
On Thursday evening, Romania's National Defense Ministry announced that around 17:00, the Romanian Army's radar surveillance system detected a small aerial target off the Black Sea coast, approximately 150 km east of the town of Mihail Kogalniceanu, Constanta County. As the target continued to move towards the Romanian state border, two F-18 fighter jets of the Spanish Air Force at the 57th Mihail Kogalniceanu Air Base were scrambled, followed by two Romanian F-16 jets from the Borcea base, said the MApN, adding that the target penetrated the national territory to a maximum depth of 14 km, and the fighter jets did not have visual contact with it at any point along its trajectory.
The radar signal was lost east of the town of Amzacea, around 19:20.