NATO jets scramble after deepest drone breach yet into Romania

NATO fighter jets from Germany and Romania were scrambled on Tuesday, November 25, 2025, in response to a drone incursion that penetrated deeper than ever before into Romanian airspace, authorities said.  

The breach occurred along Romania’s southeastern border with Ukraine. The Romanian Ministry of National Defense initially dispatched two German Eurofighter jets on air-policing duty, followed by two Romanian F-16s after radar tracked a second drone moving deeper into the country.  

Romanian Defense Minister Ionuț Moșteanu said the drones entered Romanian territory during daylight, marking a first for such an incursion, and reached more than 100 kilometres (62 miles) inside Romanian airspace. The minister added that the NATO pilots came close to engagement but held off due to concerns about causing collateral damage on the ground.  

Fragments of the drone later found on Romanian soil carried no explosive charge, Moșteanu said, and the government characterized the episode as a “new Russian provocation” against the country.  

Romania shares a roughly 400-mile border with Ukraine, much of which follows the Danube River. The defense ministry said that following the first breach in Tulcea County, the drone then entered Galati County, and on radar appeared to head toward Vrancea County, a region that does not share a direct border with Ukraine.  

Residents in the affected counties were alerted to take cover while the air force tracked the incursion. The advisory was later lifted once the threat was assessed as contained.  

During a visit to the Mihail Kogălniceanu Air Base near the Black Sea, US Army Europe & Africa Commander Christopher Donahue announced that a new drone-defeat capability is set for deployment in Romania. “We have tested and it is in the final stages of being employed. I know you’re going to see this capability in the Delta very soon,” he said.  Poland and Romania scrambled fighter aircraft on November 19 after a large wave of Russian drone and missile strikes on western Ukraine triggered radar alerts along NATO’s eastern flank. The attacks killed at least 25 people and injured more than 70 in the Ternopil, Lviv, and Ivano-Frankivsk regions, prompting Poland to launch quick reaction alert fighters, deploy an airborne early warning aircraft, and raise air and ground defenses to their highest readiness, though no Polish airspace violation occurred. Romania reported a separate airspace breach, detecting a drone briefly entering Tulcea County before radar tracks showed intermittent movement toward areas near the Moldovan border, leading to scrambles by German Eurofighters and Romanian F-16s. No damage occurred, but authorities issued temporary shelter alerts in affected regions. The incident added to a pattern of drone intrusions and debris falls near NATO territory during major Russian strikes on Ukraine.

Tensions on NATO’s eastern flank have risen in recent months following a succession of drone breaches into European airspace. In response, neighboring Poland, among others, has pressed the alliance to accelerate its drone-defense countermeasures.  

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