A naval drone, destroyed in the Neptun Deep area by a Romanian F-16

A marine drone was destroyed on Thursday by the Romanian Army using the onboard cannon of a Romanian F-16 aircraft, in the area of the Neptun Deep platform in the Black Sea, announced the interim Minister of Defense, Radu Miruță. The drone was loaded with explosives, according to the minister.

Romania received official confirmation that it is not of Ukrainian origin, Miruță emphasized.

"This morning, we were informed by the Coast Guard about the existence of a marine drone a few hundred meters from the works being carried out for gas extraction at the Neptun Deep platform, in the exclusive economic zone, 80 miles east of Constanța. A command cell was created at the level of the Ministry of National Defense, which requested NATO to take command at the level of the Romanian Army. Following the analyses conducted and in coordination with the President of Romania, in order to protect the lives of the several hundred people working on the platform and to secure critical infrastructure, the decision was made to destroy the drone," Miruță wrote on Facebook.

For speed, two Romanian F-16 fighter jets were launched, with a shooting order. The drone was destroyed safely.