Lyce · Hybrid Watch
hw_5780337a8071cf24
Drone enters Romanian airspace from Ukraine and crashes near Solca, Suceava County.
On the morning of 24 September 2026, Romanian military radar detected an aerial target operating over Ukrainian territory near Romania’s northern border and subsequently confirmed that it entered Romanian national airspace through the northern part of Botoșani County. Two Romanian Air Force F-16 fighters on air-policing duty scrambled from the 86th Borcea Air Base, while authorities issued RO-Alert warnings for residents of Botoșani and Suceava counties. The Romanian Ministry of Defence later established that the UAV remained inside Romanian airspace for approximately four minutes before crashing in a forested area near Solca in Suceava County. Interior Ministry teams secured the location and identified a small drone; no casualties, material damage or fire were reported at the crash site. An IAR-330 SOCAT helicopter also departed the 95th Bacău Air Base at 07:21 to monitor the area. Later that day, interim Defence Minister Radu Miruță said preliminary examination indicated that the aircraft contained technical characteristics not previously encountered in similar Romanian incidents and stated that a protest toward the Russian Federation was warranted.
E/M/R/S scores
- EExistence0/4 · Not assessed
- MIntent0/4 · Not assessed
- RRussian actor link0/4 · Not assessed
- SRussian state responsibility0/4 · Not assessed
Facts
No facts
Sources
-
- Role
- discovery_lead
- Date
- 2026-09-24T09:43:22Z
On the morning of 24 September 2026, Romanian military radar detected an aerial target operating over Ukrainian territory near Romania’s northern border and subsequently confirmed that it entered Romanian national airspace through the northern part of Botoșani County. Two Romanian Air Force F-16 fighters on air-policing duty scrambled from the 86th Borcea Air Base, while authorities issued RO-Alert warnings for residents of Botoșani and Suceava counties. The Romanian Ministry of Defence later established that the UAV remained inside Romanian airspace for approximately four minutes before crashing in a forested area near Solca in Suceava County. Interior Ministry teams secured the location and identified a small drone; no casualties, material damage or fire were reported at the crash site. An IAR-330 SOCAT helicopter also departed the 95th Bacău Air Base at 07:21 to monitor the area. Later that day, interim Defence Minister Radu Miruță said preliminary examination indicated that the aircraft contained technical characteristics not previously encountered in similar Romanian incidents and stated that a protest toward the Russian Federation was warranted.