Spanish fighter jets scrambled: Russian drone near NATO border

Two Spanish F-18 fighter jets were scrambled late Thursday after Romania detected a drone flying near its border with Ukraine, Romanian officials said Saturday. Romania's radar surveillance system spotted an "aerial target" moving near the Ukrainian town of Vâlkove, close to the Romanian border, during the night of September 25-26. The National Military Command Center issued an alert for residents in northern Tulcea county at 12:15 a.m. local time. The two Spanish jets, stationed at Romania's 57th Air Base Mihail Kogalniceanu as part of NATO's reinforced Air Policing mission, took off to monitor the situation. The alert ended at 1:30 a.m., and Romania reported no incursions into its airspace. The incident marks the second such activation in days. On the night of September 23-24, Spanish F-18s were scrambled to track a group of "aerial targets" operating north of Chilia Veche, Ukraine, near the Romanian border. Authorities issued a population alert at 4:41 a.m. local time, and the jets took off to monitor the situation. The alert was lifted at 5:44 a.m. Spain currently contributes approximately 200 personnel, seven F-18 fighter jets, one A400M aircraft, and a radar system to NATO's Air Policing mission in Romania. Three NH90 helicopters are scheduled to join the deployment in October. The presence of Russian drones near allied airspace has increased significantly. Spanish forces in Romania have recorded 18 alerts from August through September.