The Ministry of National Defence detected an aerial target near Snake Island / Two RO-Alert messages were issued in Tulcea

Two RO-Alert messages were issued on Saturday morning for residents of Tulcea County after the radar system of the Ministry of National Defence detected an aerial target near Snake Island. The alert was activated as a precautionary measure, and two Romanian Air Force F-16 aircraft took off from the 86th Air Base in Fetești.

The first RO-Alert message was sent at 04:45 for the eastern area of Tulcea County. At 05:39, the authorities issued a second message for residents in the northern part of the county.

According to the Ministry of National Defence, the F-16 aircraft were on Air Policing combat duty and were scrambled after the target was detected by the national radar surveillance system. The National Military Command Center notified the General Inspectorate for Emergency Situations, which ordered measures to alert the population.

The air alert ended at 05:52. The incident marked the third alert in less than six hours. On Friday evening, another aerial target had been detected southeast of Snake Island, in Ukrainian airspace. The Ministry of National Defence did not specify the nature of the target detected on Saturday or whether it entered Romanian national airspace.