EUROPE / FOREIGN DRONE EVENTS

Flight · Romania

Reported drone enters Romanian airspace near Chilia Veche, Tulcea

– · Chilia Veche → Pardina

Confirmed cross-border airspace incursion; reported UAV; operator and nationality unresolved

During the night of 26–27 September 2026 Romania’s defence ministry reported that an aerial target had entered national airspace near Chilia Veche, in Tulcea County. Radar tracked it for several minutes roughly parallel to the Chilia branch of the Danube before contact was lost near Pardina. The exact time it crossed the border was not stated.

The ministry called it an aerial target; Digi24 reported it as a drone, and its model has not been established. Military radar confirmed a cross-border entry, but the operator and nationality are unresolved, and the ministry release did not attribute it to Russia. Loss of radar contact does not show where the target went, and no crash, shoot-down, explosion or recovery has been confirmed.

Two Spanish F-18s on NATO enhanced air-policing duty and a Romanian IAR-330 SOCAT helicopter took off to monitor it. An RO-Alert warning went out for northern Tulcea County at 23:32, and the alert ended at 00:48 on 27 September. The release gave no casualty or damage assessment.

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Attribution and uncertainty

Origin / operator / attribution
Foreign cross-border entry confirmed by Romanian military radar. Operator and nationality unresolved; not attributed to Russia in the reviewed ministry release.
Investigation / uncertainty
Incursion: very high confidence (official radar report). Drone/UAV identification strongly reported by the press; the ministry uses “aerial target.” Nationality, operator, model and final outcome remain unknown. No confirmed shoot-down, crash, explosion or recovery.

Sources · 3

  1. Romanian Ministry of National Defence ↗Press information No. 307: Chilia Veche entry and radar contact lost near Pardina2026-09-27
  2. Digi24 ↗MApN: a drone entered Romanian airspace; fighters and a military helicopter launched2026-09-27
  3. RO Times ↗Earlier Vâlkove alert: target near the border, no Romanian airspace violation2026-09-26

Full record

Flight

Flight category: confirmed airspace entry. Radar loss is not a crash finding, and aircraft launches do not establish an armed engagement.

Approximate regional anchor between the named localities; not an exact track, border crossing or impact location.

Map positions are approximate anchors for the named place, not verified incident coordinates.

Reported date
2026-09-26–2026-09-27 (overnight)
Record type
cross_border_incursion
End date / linked stage
2026-09-27
Date basis
MApN dates detection to the night of 26 September. RO-Alert at 23:32; alert ended at 00:48 on 27 September, Romanian local time (EEST). Exact border-entry time not stated; replay uses the first listed date.
Location / jurisdiction
Chilia Veche → Pardina area, Tulcea County, Romania; Chilia branch of the Danube; EU airspace
Event categories
Cross-border airspace incursion; radar tracking; radar contact lost
What was reported
MApN reported a new entry into national airspace during the night of 26–27 September. Loss of radar contact does not establish where the target subsequently went.
Aircraft / vessel / quantity
One aerial target in the ministry release; reported as a drone/UAV by Digi24; exact model not established
Origin / operator / attribution
Foreign cross-border entry confirmed by Romanian military radar. Operator and nationality unresolved; not attributed to Russia in the reviewed ministry release.
Damage / casualties / disruption
RO-Alert issued for northern Tulcea County. The release gives no casualty or damage assessment and reports no confirmed ground impact.
Response / outcome
Two Spanish F-18s on NATO enhanced air-policing duty and a Romanian IAR-330 SOCAT helicopter launched for monitoring. RO-Alert: 23:32; alert ended: 00:48.
Investigation / uncertainty
Incursion: very high confidence (official radar report). Drone/UAV identification strongly reported by the press; the ministry uses “aerial target.” Nationality, operator, model and final outcome remain unknown. No confirmed shoot-down, crash, explosion or recovery.
Route / entry mechanism
Entered Romanian airspace near Chilia Veche; tracked for several minutes roughly parallel to the Chilia branch; radar contact lost near Pardina.
Explosive payload
Not reported; no explosive payload established.
Counting / links
One new overnight occurrence. Distinct from the 25–26 September Vâlkove alert, which involved no Romanian airspace violation (U009), and from the 13 August Chilia-branch event E060. No demonstrated link to Solca E059 or the earlier Agigea discovery N064.
Research provenance
Added on 2026-09-27 from MApN release No. 307 and Digi24’s report. Earlier Vâlkove reporting checked only to exclude a duplicate. Original research snapshots unchanged.

Record N065 · reviewed 27 September 2026. Record fields keep the register’s original wording.