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Drone follows the Chilia branch into Romania and vanishes from radar near Pardina

Incident Report

Fact Sheet
Date26 Sep 2026
TrackerEuropean Airspace Violations
TypeIncursion
Location Pardina, Tulcea County, Romania
45.31, 28.96 (approximate)
What Happened

Romania's Ministry of National Defence said its radar tracked an aerial target entering national airspace near Chilia Veche, on the Danube border with Ukraine, late on 26 September 2026. According to the ministry, the target flew for several minutes on a course almost parallel to the Chilia branch before the radar signal was lost near Pardina. Two Spanish F-18s on enhanced air policing and a Romanian IAR-330 SOCAT helicopter were launched, and a RO-Alert warning went out for northern Tulcea County at 23:32; the alert ended at 00:48. The ministry did not state the drone's origin.

Pardina, Tulcea County, Romania
Pardina, Tulcea County, Romania
Marker placed at city precision.

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