Romania scrambles Spanish F-18s after aerial target detected near border

Romanian authorities issued an emergency warning to residents in northern Tulcea County after military radar detected an aerial target near the country’s border with Ukraine early Saturday, September 26.

The Romanian Ministry of National Defence said the radar surveillance system detected the target during the night of September 25-26 near the Ukrainian town of Vylkove, close to the Romanian border.

Sistemul de supraveghere radar al Ministerului Apărării Naționale a detectat în noaptea de 25 spre 26 septembrie, o ţintă aeriană ce evolua în proximitatea localității Vâlkove, pe teritoriul Ucrainei, în apropierea graniței cu România.
Centrul Național Militar de Comandă a… pic.twitter.com/bNzt52W2Ay

— MApN (@MApNRomania) September 26, 2026

“The radar surveillance system of the Ministry of National Defence detected, during the night of September 25 to 26, an aerial target manoeuvring in the vicinity of the locality of Vâlkove, on Ukrainian territory, near the border with Romania.

The National Military Command Centre notified the General Inspectorate for Emergency Situations regarding the establishment of measures to alert the population in the northern part of Tulcea County, and at 00:15, an RO-Alert message was transmitted.

Two F-18 aircraft of the Spanish Air and Space Forces, engaged in Reinforced Air Policing service at Mihail Kogălniceanu Air Base 57, were scrambled to monitor the situation.

The air alert ended at 01:30. No incursions into national airspace were reported,” the ministry said.

By Tamilla Hasanova