07:17 20-05-2026

Romanian F-16 Downs Drone Over Estonia in NATO Patrol

Capt. Andrew Layton, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

A Romanian F-16 shot down a drone over Estonia during NATO Baltic air policing, as officials review possible links to earlier Ukrainian UAV incidents.

A Romanian F-16 destroyed a drone while patrolling the skies over Estonia, Romania’s Defence Ministry said.

Earlier, Delfi, citing Estonian Defence Minister Hanno Pevkur, reported that Estonia’s air defence system had shot down a drone over the country for the first time. Preliminary information suggested the aircraft may have been Ukrainian.

Romania’s military said the F-16 was carrying out an enhanced air policing mission over the Baltic region as part of Romania’s NATO collective security commitments.

According to the Romanian Defence Ministry, two F-16s from the Carpathian Vipers detachment were scrambled after an alert from the Combined Air Operations Centre. An air-to-air missile was used to take down the drone.

Later, Ukraine acknowledged that the drone intercepted over Estonia was its own.

The Carpathian Vipers are currently stationed at the Šiauliai air base in Lithuania. The detachment includes around 100 service members and six F-16 Fighting Falcon fighter jets. Romanian forces are due to take part in enhanced Baltic air policing until July 2026.

Estonia has previously reported similar incidents involving Ukrainian drones. In March, Estonian police said a Ukrainian drone had gone off course and crashed into a power plant chimney in the village of Auver, near Narva and close to the Russian border. In April, local media reported that debris found in the north of the country could also have belonged to a Ukrainian UAV.

Estonian authorities have stressed that they did not authorize Kyiv to use Estonia’s territory or airspace for drone attacks on targets in Russia.