The drone that was shot down by an F-16 fighter jet over Buzău County on 24 July was a Russian ‘Shahed’-type drone, according to a statement from the Public Prosecutor’s Office attached to the Court of Appeal in Ploiești, Romania.
A criminal investigation has been launched into the incident. Investigators have reported that the examination of the crash site has been completed, but the collection of evidence is continuing in order to establish all the circumstances of the incident.
According to Romanian law enforcement authorities, the drone entered Romanian airspace via the route Sulina – Brăila – Fetești – Buzău. It was tracked by air defence systems, after which the drone was shot down by a Romanian F-16 fighter jet near the village of Padina. No one was injured as a result of the incident, and no damage to property has been reported.
The wreckage of the drone was found on a stretch of road between the counties of Buzău and Ialomița. It will be examined as part of a criminal investigation.
In addition to the drone itself, investigators had to examine the details of its destruction separately. A missile fired by Italian pilots from a Eurofighter Typhoon fighter jet missed its target and created a crater at the impact site in Brăila County.
On 24 July, a Romanian pilot shot down an unidentified drone over Romanian territory, Romanian President Nicușor Dan reported.
“This morning, at around 11.00, a Romanian pilot flying an F-16 shot down a drone that had violated our country’s airspace. The area was uninhabited, so the pilot was able to open fire without any risk. Teams from the agencies responsible for the investigation are currently surveying the area to establish all the details of the incident,” the head of state wrote on social media.
Russian drones attacking the Odessa region, particularly port infrastructure, regularly intrude into the airspace of Moldova or Romania. Most often, the authorities in these countries report the discovery of drone wreckage only after it has crashed on their own territory.
The drone that struck a residential building in the Romanian city of Galați on the night of 29 May was a Russian ‘Geran-2’ drone, the Romanian president reported following the incident. At the time, local authorities reported that at least two people had been injured.