Romania asks Ukraine to equip sea drones with self-destruct mechanism

Romania has asked Ukraine to modify the operating algorithms of its naval drones to ensure they self-destruct if they accidentally enter Romanian territorial waters, while Bucharest is also seeking to strengthen its air defences following a recent drone incident.

Acting Romanian Defence Minister Radu Miruță said he had sent an official request to the Ukrainian side regarding the operation of drones over the Black Sea, Caliber.Az reports, citing Ukrainian media.

According to Miruță, Bucharest considers it advisable to introduce a mechanism under which Ukrainian drones would automatically destroy themselves if they inadvertently crossed into Romania's territorial waters.

The minister noted that this could be achieved through pre-programming the drones so that, even in the event of a loss of communication, an onboard microprocessor would be able to autonomously trigger the self-destruction sequence upon entering Romanian waters.

He further stated that such a system could operate independently without constant contact with an operator, as the drone's onboard processor would be capable of making the decision on its own.

Miruță also said Bucharest continues discussions with allies on the deployment of additional air defense assets in Romania.

He added that the government has asked its partners to provide additional low-altitude air surveillance and detection systems capable of tracking aerial targets operating at low altitudes.

By Bakhtiyar Abbasov