Two Spanish F-18 fighter jets were scrambled during the night after an unidentified aerial target was spotted near Romania's frontier with Ukraine, amid a renewed barrage of Russian missile and drone strikes. The aircraft took off shortly after 2am following military radar detection of the object close to the Danube town of Isaccea, the Romanian Defence Ministry confirmed.
NATO air policing mission responds
The aircraft, operating under NATO's air policing mission, were dispatched "to monitor the situation" while authorities issued warnings to residents across northern Tulcea County. Officials confirmed no violation of Romanian airspace occurred.
The episode unfolded as Russia launched a large-scale nocturnal offensive against Ukraine, heightening anxieties about the conflict's proximity to NATO borders. Putin authorised another round of strikes on Ukraine last night, with local sources indicating a Zircon anti-ship missile, two Iskander ballistic missiles and 152 drones were deployed.
Air defences intercept 109 aerial assets
Air-raid sirens sounded throughout the capital Kyiv, alongside numerous other Ukrainian regions, overnight, while air defences intercepted 109 "aerial assets".
This follows just 48 hours after two Spanish F-18 fighter jets were launched when an aerial target penetrated Romanian airspace. Radar surveillance identified an unidentified target manoeuvring near Chilia Vechem on Sunday, immediately east of Isaccea on the frontier.
Recent incidents on NATO's eastern border
Another recent incident on NATO's eastern border took place when Romanian authorities confirmed an aerial object momentarily entered the nation's airspace before vanishing. Romania's defence ministry stated that two fighter aircraft monitored the target for "a few minutes" following its entry into national airspace, before NATO forces lost track of it.
The incident occurred just days after NATO jets were deployed over the Gulf of Finland to monitor a group of Russian military aircraft operating in international airspace. The formation is understood to have comprised a Tu-134 transport plane, escorted by MiG-31 and Su-30 fighter jets. These latest developments are expected to heighten anxiety amongst NATO members regarding increased Russian military operations near the alliance's frontiers, especially in the Baltic area, where airspace breaches and drone intrusions have grown more commonplace.
