Romania scrambles NATO and own fighters twice as unidentified aerial targets approach border with Ukraine
In late September 2025, unidentified aerial targets violated or approached Romanian airspace in Tulcea County near the Ukrainian border twice within roughly 24 hours: once during the night of 26–27 September, and again on the evening of 27 September. Romania declared and cancelled air-raid alerts, issued RO-Alert notifications to local residents, and scrambled Spanish Air and Space Force F-18s on a NATO enhanced air-policing mission, Romanian Air Force F-16s, and a Romanian IAR-330 SOCAT helicopter. The first incident coincided with a Russian mass drone strike on southern Odesa Oblast that damaged a residential building, a medical facility, a hotel, a shop, and a grain storage warehouse, according to the head of the Odesa Oblast Military Administration, Oleh Kiper. A specialised Romanian Ministry of Defence team was dispatched on the morning of 28 September to survey the affected territory.
Key points
- Two separate incidents of unidentified aerial targets approaching Romanian airspace were recorded in Tulcea County, near the Ukrainian border, within about 24 hours: overnight on 26–27 September and on the evening of 27 September 2025.
- During the night of 26–27 September, two Spanish Air and Space Force F-18s on a NATO enhanced air-policing mission and a Romanian Air Force IAR-330 SOCAT helicopter were scrambled after radar picked up the object close to the river border near Chilia Veche.
- RO-Alert notifications were sent to residents of northern Tulcea County at 23:32 on 26 September and at 20:35 on 27 September; the air-raid alert was cancelled at 00:48 on 27 September and again at 22:05 the same day.
- On the evening of 27 September, two Romanian Air Force F-16 fighters took off from the 86th Borcea Air Base after radar detected an air target moving from Ukrainian territory; the target entered Romanian airspace near Catalchioi and its radar signal disappeared about 10 minutes later near Somova.
- Sources disagree on the type of aircraft scrambled and the route of the first target: most describe Spanish NATO F-18s, while one describes Romanian F-16s; and some describe the first target moving parallel to the Chilia branch of the Danube toward Pardina rather than toward Somova.
- The first airspace incident coincided with a Russian mass drone strike on southern Odesa Oblast, during which, according to Odesa OVA head Oleh Kiper, a residential building, a medical facility, a hotel, a shop and a grain storage warehouse were damaged.
- On the morning of 28 September, a specialised Romanian Ministry of Defence team departed to survey the affected territory; earlier on 26 September, Moldovan border police also reported drone debris near the village of Volintiri in Stefan Voda district and a drone crossing Moldovan airspace from the direction of Stepanivka in Odesa Oblast.
Why it matters
Two scrambles by NATO-allied and Romanian fighters within roughly 24 hours for unidentified aerial targets near the Ukrainian border show a concrete spillover risk from Russia's attacks on Ukraine into Romanian airspace. The deployment of Spanish F-18s under NATO's enhanced air-policing mission alongside Romanian F-16s and an IAR-330 SOCAT helicopter underscores operational reliance on the Alliance's rotation in Romania. The first incident occurred during a Russian mass strike on southern Odesa Oblast that damaged civilian infrastructure, and a Romanian Ministry of Defence survey team was sent to the site, suggesting official concern that debris may have fallen on Romanian territory. RO-Alert messages were sent directly to civilians in Tulcea County, showing the events were not abstract for the local population.
What happened
During the night of 26–27 September 2025, Romanian radar detected an unidentified aerial target near Chilia Veche, on the Danube river border with Ukraine. Romania declared an air-raid alert in northern Tulcea County and at 23:32 on 26 September issued a RO-Alert notification to residents. Two Spanish Air and Space Force F-18 fighter jets operating under NATO's enhanced air-policing mission and a Romanian Air Force IAR-330 SOCAT helicopter were scrambled. According to radar data, the target entered Romanian airspace near Chilia Veche and for several minutes moved roughly parallel to the Chilia branch of the Danube before radar contact was lost in the Pardina area. The air-raid alert was cancelled at 00:48 on 27 September. The incident coincided with a Russian mass drone strike on southern Odesa Oblast; according to Odesa Oblast Military Administration head Oleh Kiper, a residential building, a medical facility, a hotel, a shop and a grain storage warehouse were damaged. On the evening of 27 September, Romanian radar detected another air target moving from Ukrainian territory near Chilia Veche toward Romania. Two Romanian Air Force F-16 fighters took off from the 86th Borcea Air Base, and at 20:35 a RO-Alert notification was issued for Tulcea County. The target entered Romanian airspace near Catalchioi and moved along the border; its radar signal disappeared about 10 minutes later near Somova, and the air-raid alert was cancelled at 22:05. On the morning of 28 September, a specialised Romanian Ministry of Defence team departed to survey the area.
How Ukrainian sources describe it
All supplied coverage comes from Ukrainian-language outlets (ЛІГА.net LB.ua, hromadske, Європейська правда, Українська правда, Укрінформ). They frame the Romanian incidents as a direct spillover from Russian attacks on Ukraine, foregrounding the damage to civilian infrastructure in southern Odesa Oblast — a residential building, a medical facility, a hotel, a shop and a grain warehouse — as reported by Odesa OVA head Oleh Kiper. Headlines uniformly stress the violation of Romanian airspace and the response by NATO-allied and Romanian fighters, presenting the events as evidence of the international security consequences of the Russia–Ukraine war. Ukrainian outlets thus contextualise the Romanian alerts as consequences of Russian rather than Ukrainian actions.
Where reporting differs
Three main points of disagreement appear across the Ukrainian sources. First, sources place the first airspace violation and fighter scramble on different dates: most describe it as the night of 26 September 2025, but others date it to the night of 27 September. Third-party fact-check facts also disagree on whether the first incident occurred in the night or the evening. Second, sources disagree on the aircraft scrambled in the first incident: most describe Spanish Air and Space Force F-18s operating under the NATO enhanced air-policing mission, but one specifies Romanian Air Force F-16s taking off from the 86th Borcea Air Base. Third, sources disagree on the location and route of the first air target: some describe it entering near Chilia Veche and moving parallel to the Chilia branch of the Danube toward Pardina, while others describe a target entering near Catalchioi and moving toward Somova. The disagreement is consistent with two separate incidents on different dates — one overnight on 26–27 September (F-18s, Chilia Veche/Pardina area) and one on the evening of 27 September (F-16s, Catalchioi/Somova area) — but sources do not all distinguish them clearly.
Background
Tulcea County lies along the Danube river border with Ukraine, in the vicinity of Odesa Oblast, which has been a frequent target of Russian drone and missile strikes. NATO's enhanced air-policing mission rotates allied fighter detachments through member states bordering conflict zones; Spain contributed F-18s to Romania's rotation. Earlier on 26 September 2025, Moldovan border police reported drone debris near the village of Volintiri in Stefan Voda district, and an unidentified drone was reported crossing Moldovan airspace at 11:16 from the direction of Stepanivka in Odesa Oblast toward Novokotovsk in Transnistria, leaving Moldovan airspace at 11:18. On the night of 27 September 2025, according to Ukrinform, Ukrainian air-defence forces reported shooting down 112 drones used by Russia to attack Ukraine.