Spanish F-18 fighter jets were scrambled in the dead of night after a mystery aerial object was spotted close to the Romanian border, as Vladimir Putin unleashed a fresh barrage of drones and missiles on Ukraine.
Jets launched near border town
Two Spanish F-18 warplanes were launched at around 2am after military radar detected what Romania described as “an aerial target” near the border town of Isaccea. Residents in northern Tulcea County were placed on alert as the jets were deployed “to monitor the situation”.
The Romanian Defence Ministry later said there had been no incursions into the country's airspace, according to The Mirror. The dramatic response came as Russian forces launched another major overnight attack on Ukraine, fuelling fears over the growing risk of incidents spilling into NATO territory.
Overnight attack on Ukraine
Putin ordered another wave of attacks on Ukraine last night, with local reports suggesting a Zircon anti-ship missile, two Iskander ballistic missiles and 152 drones were fired. Air-raid warnings rang out across the capital city of Kyiv, as well as several other Ukrainian regions, overnight, as air defences shot down 109 “aerial assets”.
This comes just 48 hours after two Spanish F-18 fighter jets were scrambled after an aerial target entered Romanian airspace. Radar surveillance detected an unidentified target manoeuvring near Chilia Vechem on Sunday, just to the east of Isaccea on the border.
Recent incidents on NATO's eastern flank
Another recent confrontation on NATO's eastern flank occurred when Romanian officials confirmed an aerial target briefly crossed into the country's airspace before disappearing. Romania's defence ministry said two fighter jets tracked the object for “a few minutes” after it entered national airspace, before NATO forces lost contact.
The development came days after NATO aircraft were scrambled over the Gulf of Finland to shadow a group of Russian military planes flying in international airspace. The formation reportedly included a Tu-134 transport aircraft, accompanied by MiG-31 and Su-30 fighter jets. The latest incidents are likely to add to concerns among NATO allies over growing Russian military activity around the alliance's borders, particularly in the Baltic region, where airspace violations and drone incursions have become increasingly frequent.
