Miruță: Marine drone loaded with explosives destroyed by two Romanian F-16s in the Black Sea

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According to Minister Miruță, the drone was destroyed by the onboard cannon of a Romanian F-16 fighter jet after two fighter jets were scrambled and given the order to fire.

“A naval drone was destroyed by the Romanian Army using the onboard cannon of a Romanian F-16 fighter jet a few moments ago, in the area of the Neptun Deep platform in the Black Sea,” Radu Miruță stated.

The minister specified that authorities were informed earlier this morning by the Coast Guard of the marine drone’s presence a few hundred meters from the gas extraction operations, within Romania’s exclusive economic zone, approximately 80 miles east of Constanța.

How safe is the Black Sea coast during the summer season. President Nicușor Dan’s response

A command center was established at the Ministry of National Defense, and, according to Miruță, a request was made at the NATO level for the Romanian Armed Forces to assume command.

“Following the analyses conducted and in coordination with the President of Romania, in order to protect the lives of the several hundred people working on the platform and to secure critical infrastructure, the decision was made to destroy the drone,” the minister stated.

To respond quickly, two Romanian F-16 fighter jets were scrambled with orders to engage. The drone, which was loaded with explosives, was safely destroyed.

Radu Miruță also noted that Romanian authorities received official confirmation, through a direct communication channel with the Ukrainian side, that the drone was not of Ukrainian origin.

The Ministry of National Defense has not yet confirmed that the drone was loaded with explosives

The Ministry of National Defense reported that two F-16 aircraft of the Romanian Air Force intervened on Thursday in response to a small maritime drone located in Romania’s Exclusive Economic Zone, near the Neptun Alpha platform, approximately 80 nautical miles east of Constanța.

“One of the aircraft engaged the target and fired its onboard cannon at it, striking the target,” the Ministry of National Defense reported.

The presence of the drifting maritime drone was reported around 6:28 a.m. by a commercial vessel, according to the Ministry of National Defense.

“A Coast Guard vessel, with an EOD team from the Romanian Naval Forces on board, is heading toward the area where the maritime drone is located to conduct an inspection,” the Ministry of National Defense stated, without providing any details about the drone’s explosive payload.

In fact, Acting Defense Minister Radu Miruță also edited his Facebook post to remove the information stating that the drone was loaded with explosives.

Nicușor Dan: A race against time

Romanian President Nicușor Dan congratulated the Romanian Army and the pilots of the two Romanian F-16 fighter jets on the success of the mission to destroy the maritime drone near the Neptun Deep platform in the Black Sea.

The president also commended the Coast Guard for its promptness in reporting the drone’s presence in the area.

“A race against time, in which the top priority was protecting the lives of the people working on the platform and keeping critical infrastructure out of any potential danger. I strongly condemn the escalation of these types of irresponsible incidents on the part of the Russian Federation. We remain vigilant alongside our NATO allies to defend ourselves and repel such provocations,” President Nicușor Dan wrote on X.