Air alert near Snake Island: Spanish F-18s scrambled from Mihail Kogălniceanu
Romania's Defence Ministry said radar detected an aerial target about 30 km east of Snake Island, in Ukrainian airspace. Two Spanish F-18s were scrambled and an RO-Alert was sent to eastern Tulcea county.
Romania's Ministry of National Defence said on Sunday, 8 November, that its radar systems detected an aerial target about 30 kilometres east of Snake Island, in Ukrainian airspace.
Two F-18 aircraft of the Spanish Air Force, deployed at the 57th Air Base Mihail Kogălniceanu for NATO's air policing mission, were scrambled. The National Military Command Centre notified the General Inspectorate for Emergency Situations, and authorities sent an RO-Alert message at 14:02 to residents of eastern Tulcea county, according to Mediafax.
According to the ministry's statement, the target did not enter Romanian airspace.
Romania's Tulcea county borders Ukraine along the Danube, and RO-Alert warnings have been issued there repeatedly during Russian drone attacks on nearby Ukrainian ports.
On 24 August, the ministry reported a similar incident, when two aerial targets were detected 25 km northwest of Snake Island and Spanish F-18s were scrambled; the contacts disappeared from radar after explosions were reported on the Ukrainian side.
Sources: Romanian Ministry of National Defence (MApN), Mediafax, Radio Romania International.