Bucharest proposes safeguards for Ukrainian naval drones in Black Sea

Romania wants Ukrainian naval drones to be programmed to self-destruct if they approach its territorial waters in the Black Sea, the country’s Defence Minister Radu Miruta outlined in a television interview.

According to him, Ukrainian maritime drones should be configured in such a way that, in the event of a loss of communication or control, they cannot enter Romania’s territorial waters.

The minister proposed introducing a dedicated algorithm that would trigger the drone’s self-destruction as it nears the boundary of Romanian waters.

“If you suddenly lose them in the Black Sea, when they approach Romania’s territorial waters at a distance of 12 nautical miles, the controller that operates this drone must programme it for automatic self-destruction,” Miruta said.

He added that he intends to propose to the Ukrainian side that such a mechanism be applied to all maritime drones launched into the Black Sea.

“Our neighbours in Ukraine, who are in such a fierce war caused by Russia, must guarantee to us that all the drones they launch into the Black Sea are programmed using this technical iteration,” the Romanian minister said.

By Tamilla Hasanova