airspace incident: Near Padina, southeastern Romania (2026-07-24)

What happened

At 09:39 Romanian radar detected an air target 20 km from Sulina; two Italian Eurofighters, two Romanian F-16s and an IAR 330 SOCAT were scrambled. The drone, identified visually as a Shahed, flew over Romania for about one hour and twenty minutes; the Eurofighter's first missile missed, and at 11:02 a Romanian F-16 neutralised the drone near Padina. It was the first drone shot down in Romanian airspace, and the Prosecutor General's Office confirmed the following day that the machine was of Russian origin.

The word "Russian" in this description comes from the source's account of where the object was made or what type it is. It is not a finding about who sent it or on whose orders. This record carries no assessment of responsibility: see the attribution band below.

Responsibility and limits of the evidence

not assessed

Nobody has yet assessed responsibility for this record. Not assessed is not the same as not established.

Impact

killed

not established

injured

not established

damage

not established

Sources

1. Naruszenia przestrzeni powietrznej nieobjętej działaniami wojennymi podczas wojny rosyjsko-ukraińskiej

   pl.wikipedia.org / secondary source

   supports: the record

2. Violations of non-combatant airspace during the Russo-Ukrainian war (2022-present)

   en.wikipedia.org / secondary source

   supports: the record