A drone crashed on the morning of Sept. 24, 2026, near the town of Solca in Suceava County, northeastern Romania, after entering the country's airspace. Romania's Ministry of National Defence reported that the incident caused no casualties or material damage. As a preventive measure, local authorities suspended school classes in four settlements across the region until 10:00 local time.
According to accounts from local residents who witnessed the drone, the aircraft exploded upon impact with trees in a nearby forest. Authorities cordoned off the area, and an IAR-330 SOCAT helicopter took off from the 95th Air Base in Bacău to monitor the local situation.
The incident followed earlier air activity during the night, when the first air alert was issued in northern Tulcea County after defence ministry radars detected a group of aerial targets over Ukraine near the border. A warning was sent to local residents at 04:41 via the Ro-Alert system, and two Spanish F-18 fighter jets took off from Mihail Kogălniceanu Air Base to monitor the area. No airspace violation occurred during that incident, and the alert was cancelled shortly before 06:00.
Radar surveillance later detected another aerial target over Ukraine close to the border in northern Botoșani County. Two Romanian Air Force F-16 fighter jets scrambled from Borcea Air Base, and the object crossed the border through northern Botoșani, prompting a new Ro-Alert at 06:26 for Botoșani and Suceava counties. According to the defence ministry, the target remained in Romanian airspace for about four minutes before crashing near Solca.
