EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Romanian F-16 jets scrambled after an explosive maritime drone drifted near a vital Black Sea offshore gas project.
Romania scrambled two F-16 fighter jets after a maritime drone was discovered drifting dangerously close to the country’s strategically important Neptun Deep offshore gas project in the Black Sea, prompting a rapid military response. The unmanned vessel was reported by a commercial ship at approximately 6:28 a.m. local time on Aug. 20, according to Romania’s Ministry of National Defence. The drone was located several hundred meters from the Neptun Alpha platform, about 80 nautical miles east of Constanța, inside Romania’s exclusive economic zone.
Military Response and Threat Neutralization