Romania: MOMENT - Romanian F-16s destroy naval drone near Black Sea gas platform.

RESTRICTION: USERS MUST CREDIT "ROMANIAN DEFENSE MINISTRY" HANDOUT ---EDITORIAL USE ONLY--- SHOTLIST: ROMANIA (RELEASED ON AUG. 21, 2026) (ROMANIAN DEFENSE MINISTRY - RESTRICTED) 1. MOMENT OF NAVAL DRONE DESTROYED BY ROMANIAN F-16 FIGHTER JETS ROMANIA (RELEASED ON AUG. 21, 2026) : Romanian F-16 fighter jets destroyed a naval drone Thursday morning near the Neptun Deep gas platform in the Black Sea, Defense Minister Radu Miruta said. “This morning, we were informed by the Coast Guard of the presence of a naval drone a few hundred meters from the works being carried out for gas extraction at the Neptun Deep platform,” Miruta wrote on US social media platform Facebook. He said a command cell was established at the Defense Ministry and that NATO-level coordination was transferred to the Romanian military. “Following the analyses carried out and in coordination with the President of Romania, a decision was made to destroy the drone in order to protect the lives of the several hundred people working on the platform and secure critical infrastructure,” Miruta said. He added that two Romanian F-16 fighter jets were scrambled and safely destroyed the drone. “Through the direct communication channel recently established with the Ukrainian side, we received official confirmation that it was not of Ukrainian origin,” Miruta stressed.