Radu Miruță announced that Romania will receive counter-drone capabilities through SAFE / Deliveries will begin in the middle of next year

Romania will begin receiving anti-drone combat capabilities and low-altitude radars contracted through the European SAFE program in the middle of next year, interim Defense Minister Radu Miruță announced. The contracts provide for staggered deliveries over a period of up to two and a half years.

The announcement comes after a drone entered national airspace on Thursday through northern Botoșani County and flew over Romanian territory for approximately four minutes. According to the minister, the aircraft was monitored by the Defense Ministry’s radars after coming from Ukraine, but not all the conditions necessary to safely shoot it down were met simultaneously.

The drone subsequently crashed near the town of Solca, in Suceava County. A RO-Alert message was issued for residents of Suceava and Botoșani counties. During the same period, authorities detected drones north of the town of Chilia Veche, in Ukrainian territory, near Romania’s border, and the population of northern Tulcea County was warned.

The Defense Minister said that, until the new systems are delivered, Romania is adapting its anti-drone defense solutions approximately every two weeks, using the capabilities currently available. Radu Miruță maintained that the Romanian Army is making maximum use of existing resources.