Spanish EF-18 shoots down attack UAV over Romania

EF-18M fighters from the Spanish Air and Space Force's (EAE's) 12th Wing deployed at the Mihail Kogălniceanu Air Base in Romania as part of NATO's enhanced air policing (eAP-72) mission, which began on 31 July 2026. (EAE)

A Spanish EF-18M combat aircraft shot down an attack unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) over Romania on 16 August 2026, Spain's Defence Staff (EMAD) and the Romanian Ministry of National Defence (MApN) announced later the same day.

The MApN said on its website that its surveillance systems detected the entry of an aerial target into national airspace from Moldova approximately 24 km north of the city of Galați at 04:44 on 16 August. Following the detection, two EF-18Ms from the Spanish Air and Space Force's (EAE's) 12th Wing deployed at the Mihail Kogălniceanu Air Base in Romania as part of NATO's enhanced air policing (eAP-72) mission were activated. The EMAD said on the EAE website that Spanish fighter jets integrated into the NATO command and control chain followed the instructions of the tactical controller at the Bucharest air control centre and took off, intercepted, and identified the target that entered Romanian airspace near the Danube river delta. After confirming that the target was an attack UAV, one of the EF-18Ms was authorised to shoot it down with an air-to-air missile, which it did at 5:01. The MApN announced in a press release later the same day that an aerial and ground reconnaissance mission was carried out by joint teams from the MApN and the Ministry of Internal Affairs in the impact area between Băleni and Cudalbi, Galați County, and found fragments of the air-to-air missile, which was neutralised by an explosive ordnance disposal team, while forensic specialists collected fragments of the downed UAV.