Controlled disposal · Romania
Romanian Navy destroys two drifting Gerbera drones near Neptun Deep
· Neptun Deep · aerial wreckage
Military aerial-drone recovery cluster
On the morning of 11 August 2026 a civilian vessel reported two aerial drones drifting at sea near the Neptun Deep works area, about 90 nautical miles off Constanța. The area lies in Romania's exclusive economic zone (EEZ), not in its territorial sea. A separate drone wing was also found; it has not been shown to come from a third drone.
The drones were identified as Gerbera aerial drones, a type used by Russia. Ukraine said the objects were not Ukrainian. No operator has been conclusively established, and the drones' original flight routes are unknown.
Romanian Navy divers and explosive-ordnance disposal specialists, supported by the Coast Guard, destroyed the two drones, which posed a potential explosive hazard, and recovered the wing, which was reported to be non-hazardous. No casualties were reported. These were aerial drones floating at sea, not uncrewed surface vessels, and they are separate from a sea-drone case on 20 August.
Attribution and uncertainty
- Origin / operator / attribution
- Gerbera/Russian-used type; Ukraine said objects were not Ukrainian; positive operator not conclusively established
- Investigation / uncertainty
- Aircraft type reported; individual origin/flight histories unresolved.
Sources · 1
Full record
Controlled disposal by authorities; kept separate from incident explosions.
Map positions are approximate anchors for the named place, not verified incident coordinates.
- Reported date
- 2026-08-11
- Date basis
- 11 August; civilian report around 08:00 EEST
- Location / jurisdiction
- Neptun Deep works area, approximately 90 nautical miles off Constanța; EEZ, not territorial sea
- Event categories
- Civilian-vessel discovery; floating aerial wreckage; controlled destruction; component recovery
- What was reported
- Civilian vessel reported two drifting drones near offshore works.
- Aircraft / vessel / quantity
- 2 Gerbera aerial UAVs and 1 separate wing; wing not proven to be a third airframe
- Origin / operator / attribution
- Gerbera/Russian-used type; Ukraine said objects were not Ukrainian; positive operator not conclusively established
- Damage / casualties / disruption
- No casualties reported
- Response / outcome
- Navy divers/EOD, supported by Coast Guard, destroyed two drones and recovered wing.
- Investigation / uncertainty
- Aircraft type reported; individual origin/flight histories unresolved.
- Route / entry mechanism
- Floating/drifting at sea; original flight routes unknown
- Explosive payload
- Potential explosive hazard; exact payloads not established in collected account; wing reported non-hazardous
- Counting / links
- Distinct from 20 August maritime USV E047. These were aerial drones floating at sea, not USVs. Two destruction operations retained within one discovery cluster.
- Research provenance
- Added during export source checks; absent from the visible chronological report
Record E043. Record fields keep the register’s original wording.