Two drones enter Romania's airspace from Moldova; four F-16s scrambled and drone alerts sent in six north-eastern counties
Two drones entered Romania's airspace without authorisation from the direction of the Republic of Moldova on Saturday evening, 31 October, the Defence Ministry (MApN) said. Four F-16 fighters and an IAR-330 helicopter were scrambled, and RO-Alert warnings were sent to people in Iași, Neamț, Vaslui, Botoșani, Bacău and Suceava counties. One drone left Romanian airspace and the second was last seen between Vaslui and Bacău. No crash was reported, and the alerts ended at 19:19.
The first alert went out at 17:04 Bucharest time, after the ministry's radar picked up an aerial target about 10 kilometres from the border with Moldova. Two F-16s on air-policing duty took off from the 71st Air Base at Câmpia Turzii, and the emergency inspectorate (IGSU) sent RO-Alert messages to northern Iași and to Neamț county, telling people to take shelter in basements or civil-protection shelters, or to stay indoors away from windows. The alert was extended to Vaslui at 17:53, to Botoșani at 18:10 and to Bacău at 18:15, after MApN said a second target had entered Romanian airspace from Moldova. Two more F-16s and an IAR-330 SOCAT helicopter then took off from the 86th Air Base at Borcea, near Fetești, and Suceava county was added at 18:44.
In its final statement, the ministry said one of the two drones had left national airspace and the other was last observed in the area between Vaslui and Bacău counties. It reported no crash of any aerial vehicle and said the alerts ended at 19:19. It did not say what type of drones they were or where exactly they had flown, and neither drone was reported shot down. MApN said it kept allied structures informed in real time. Iași airport closed its airspace for a time during the alert, and a flight from Eindhoven due in Iași at 18:25 was diverted to Suceava.
Moldova's army reported two drones crossing its own territory in the same hours. The first entered at 16:24 from the Odesa region of Ukraine, flew over the Transnistrian region and central Moldova, and vanished from radar at 16:54 near Țibirica, in Călărași district, not far from the Prut. The second entered at 17:50 from the Vinnytsia region and left Moldovan airspace at 18:12 near Viișoara, in Edineț district, on the border with Romania. Chișinău briefly closed its northern and central airspace and said the incursions came during massive Russian attacks on Ukraine. Romanian authorities have not said whether these were the same drones.
Defence Minister Ștefan Radu Oprea said the priority was to protect the population and the national airspace. The Foreign Ministry wrote on X that two more drones had entered Romania's airspace, "now in the Northern part of the country", that the air force had responded promptly and that what was needed was "a durable and just peace in Ukraine". According to MApN, Romania has recorded 35 unauthorised airspace incursions since the start of 2026. The authorities advise anyone who finds fallen objects not to approach them and to call 112.