Romanian F-16 Jets Destroy Russian Drone Boat Near Gas Platform
Romania accused Russia of sending an explosive-laden drone boat toward a vital European natural gas platform in the Black Sea. A Romanian F-16 fighter jet used its cannons to disable the drone for safe detonation.
Romania this week accused Russia of sending a drone boat loaded with explosives toward a vital European natural gas platform in the Black Sea. A Romanian F-16 fighter jet used its cannons to disable the surface drone so that explosive ordnance experts could blow it up safely.
On August 20, the Romanian Coast Guard first spotted the maritime drone a few hundred meters away from the Neptun Deep project’s main drilling platform. Several hundred workers were busy with the platform’s ongoing installation at the time, Defense Minister Radu Miruță stated in a Facebook post. The Neptun Deep offshore gas project is projected to make Romania the largest gas producer in the European Union once it begins full production in 2027.
To protect the lives of the workers and the offshore gas infrastructure, the Romanian military scrambled two F-16 fighter jets to intercept and stop the drone with cannon fire. Army specialists later carried out a controlled detonation of the device, as shown in a Facebook video shared by the defense minister.