WW3 fears soar as drone breaches NATO country's airspace

A drone was shot down after it breached the airspace of a NATO member country. Romanian President Nicușor Dan said an F-16 pilot destroyed the aircraft at around 11am local time after it entered the country’s airspace.

In a post on X, he said: “This morning, around 11:00 a.m., a Romanian pilot in an F-16 aircraft shot down a drone that had entered our country’s airspace. The area was uninhabited, so the pilot was able to fire without any risk involved. Currently, teams from institutions with relevant responsibilities are investigating the area to provide all the details about the incident.” The president did not identify who operated the drone or say where it had come from. Officials are continuing to investigate the incident and have not released further details. Earlier, the Buzău Inspectorate for Emergency Situations said a RO-Alert warning had been issued across a large area of southeastern Romania, including Buzău County.

The authority said there was a “possible drone in the Buzău County area in a field zone”.

Residents in the neighbouring counties of Brăila and Galați also received RO-Alert messages warning of the possibility of objects falling from the airspace and advising them to seek shelter.