F-16 fighter jets intercept Russian drones in NATO airspace – but not allowed to shoot them down

Russian drones are causing a stir in NATO airspace in Romania. Fighter jets take off but are not allowed to intervene due to law.

BUCHAREST – Russian bombing drones in NATO airspace: The horror scene became reality on September 9. In Ukraine war Russian drones usually fly over the territory of Ukraine, but this time one of them was in Romanian airspace.

Bucharest responded immediately: two F-16 fighter jets from the Romanian Air Force flew up to track and intercept the drone. However, according to official reports, the pilots are not allowed to shoot down the drone as it is illegal under Romanian law. In July, Romanian jets took off due to Russian drones.

Romanian ground radars have detected a Russian drone entering international waters in the Black Sea for the first time. According to a press release from the Romanian Defense Ministry, the drone entered the airspace of the Danube Delta around 2 am. Two Romanian fighter pilots caught with Russian Shahed drone

F-16 fighter jets take off to monitor the airspace

The model was an Iranian-designed flying wing aircraft about the size of a motorcycle and typically armed with a 30 to 75 kg warhead. Half an hour after being found, he crashed into a Romanian farm field, the report said. There it exploded. Search operations found “fragments of a Russian drone” in an “uninhabited area” near Periprava. No one was injured.

Shahed was probably from the Russian-occupied Ukrainian peninsula Cream Taking off, it aimed for the Ukrainian river port of Vilkov opposite Peribrava, but diverted and flew into Romanian territorial waters and airspace over southeastern Romania. The two F-16 fighter jets were airborne between 2:25 a.m. and 4:08 a.m. and landed safely after monitoring air activity in the area. The NATO A Ministry of Defense statement said that the incident was reported.

The Romanian Foreign Ministry announced on Sunday that it had conveyed to the Kremlin “its strong opposition to the renewed violation of Romanian airspace”. A Foreign Ministry statement said Bucharest “demands” that the Kremlin abide by international law.

The ministry condemned the “renewed violation” of Romania’s airspace and called on Moscow to desist from its continued “illegal attacks” that lead to “irresponsible escalation” in the region. The ministry also called for compliance with international laws. Accordingly, NATO Allies were informed about the incident.

F-16 fighter pilots are not allowed to shoot down a Russian drone

Two F-16 pilots could have easily shot down the drone. However, laws dating back to the early 2000s prohibit the Romanian military from attacking aircraft entering Romanian airspace. Exception: The aircraft is clearly identified and is about to or is in the act of committing an obviously hostile or dangerous act.

According to the article Romanian Air Force Rules of Engagement (ROE) apply, before attacking an aircraft, Romanian pilots must determine whether it poses a real threat, even if it is a drone. According to this ROE, Romanian fighter pilots, after firing warning shots and attempting to communicate with the aircraft, could only shoot down an air target they intercepted and attacked. However, the outdated laws and ROE do not take into account the currently widespread use of dangerous robotic drones — which have no pilots — and therefore cannot communicate by radio, the article says.