Drone crashes in Romania: F-16s scrambled, classes suspended in four localities

On the morning of September 24, a small drone crashed in Romania after being in the country's airspace for about four minutes. Romanian military scrambled two F-16 fighters to monitor the target, and in four localities of Suceava County, school classes were temporarily suspended due to the air alert.

According to the Romanian Ministry of Defense, radars initially detected an air target over Ukraine near the Romanian border. It later entered Romania through the northern part of Botoșani County. Two F-16s of the Romanian Air Force took off from Borcea Air Base to monitor the situation.

At 06:26, residents of Botoșani and Suceava counties received a RO-Alert message. The drone was over the country's territory for about four minutes before crashing near the town of Solca in Suceava County. Romanian services found a small drone at the site. No fires, casualties, or material damage were recorded.

Due to the alert, authorities suspended classes until 10:00 in educational institutions in Solca, Arbore, Botoșani, and Cacica. According to Radio Iași, the decision was made jointly by the school inspectorate and local authorities as a precautionary measure. After the drone crash, the military also scrambled an IAR-330 SOCAT helicopter for additional surveillance of the area.

The likely flight path of the drone came from Chernivtsi Oblast, which borders the northern part of Romania's Botoșani County. Since morning, an air alert has been ongoing in Chernivtsi Oblast, and the head of the regional military administration reported the movement of a drone toward Porubne, a border crossing point with Romania. However, there is currently no official confirmation that this was the same device that later crashed near Solca.

The Romanian Ministry of Defense has not yet reported the type of drone or its owner. On the night of September 24, Romanian military also detected a group of air targets over Ukraine near the border in the Danube Delta area. Two Spanish F-18s, which are on duty in Romania as part of NATO's enhanced air policing, were scrambled.

Sources: Romanian Ministry of Defense, Radio Iași, Chernivtsi Regional Military Administration