Radu-Dinel Miruţă

“take charge of the situation,”

Radu-Dinel Miruţă · said 2026-08-20 · reported 2026-08-21

Romania's defense ministry sought NATO authorization to respond to a drone near the Neptun Deep gas project.

“To ensure a rapid response, two Romanian F-16 fighter jets were scrambled with orders to engage. The drone was safely destroyed.”

Radu-Dinel Miruţă · said 2026-08-20 · reported 2026-08-21

Romanian defense minister Radu-Dinel Miruţă confirmed that F-16 jets engaged and destroyed the drone.

“Following an assessment and in coordination with the President of Romania, the decision was made to destroy the drone in order to protect the lives of the hundreds of personnel working on the platform and to safeguard critical infrastructure,”

Radu-Dinel Miruţă · said 2026-08-20 · reported 2026-08-21

Romanian defense minister Radu-Dinel Miruţă explained the decision to destroy the drone near critical offshore infrastructure.