Debris of several drones found in Romania, two contained explosives
On Friday, September 11, numerous fragments and remains of drones were discovered over several hours in Romania's Tulcea and Constanța counties, as well as in the Black Sea. According to the country's Ministry of Defense, two of the found objects contained explosives and were neutralized by specialists.
This was reported by Digi24 citing Romania's Ministry of National Defense. Military sappers, the Romanian Intelligence Service (SRI), Border Police, and Coast Guard were involved in the operations.
The first inspection was conducted around 13:30 in the area of Câșla Vădanii in Tulcea County, between Sulina and Sfântu Gheorghe. Two fragments of an aerial drone had washed ashore. Military specialists determined that they did not contain explosives.
Border police discovered two more fragments in the morning on the beach in the Periteașca area. One of them contained explosives. The SRI pyrotechnic team neutralized it, while the Coast Guard took the second object.
Around 16:00, a merchant ship reported two more drone fragments in the Black Sea approximately 46 nautical miles east of Midia. A Coast Guard patrol vessel retrieved them from the water. These debris posed no pyrotechnic threat.
The largest find was made around 17:55 in the Edighiol – Periboina area in Constanța County. During the search for a suspicious object, specialists from the Ministry of Defense spotted the remains of four drones from a helicopter.
Among them was an interceptor drone with explosives on board. All found elements were rendered safe and neutralized. Thus, during the day, Romanian services reported ten discovered fragments or remains of unmanned aerial vehicles in four areas.
Romania's Ministry of Defense has not yet announced the origin of the found drones and has not linked all discovered objects to any specific Russian strike on Ukraine. The ministry stated that it maintains heightened readiness and continues monitoring the airspace and the Black Sea.
The findings occurred against the backdrop of another Russian air attack near the Romanian border. Early in the morning of September 11, radars of Romania's Ministry of Defense detected a group of aerial targets approximately 16 km north of Ukraine's Vylkove. Two Romanian F-16s were scrambled to observe the situation, and residents of the northern part of Tulcea County were alerted via the RO-Alert system. In this episode, the military did not record drones entering Romanian airspace.
Drone incidents near Romania have become noticeably more frequent in 2026. As of September 11, Romania's Ministry of Defense has recorded 137 Russian attacks near the border since the start of the full-scale war, 45 cases of unauthorized drone penetration into the country's air or sea space, and 73 cases of discovery, seizure, or neutralization of drones and their fragments. A total of 36 such findings are attributed to 2026 alone.
Sources: Digi24, Ministry of National Defense of Romania.
