Why RO-ALERT is no longer enough in the case of Russian drones. Security expert: 'Population needs to know how to react'
Security expert Hari Bucur-Marcu believes that the population in the areas close to the war in Ukraine should receive practical training on how to react to drone attacks, not just warning messages through the RO-ALERT system.
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After the incident in Galaţi, Hari Bucur-Marcu claims that the simple transmission of warning messages through the RO-ALERT system is not enough and that the authorities should develop practical training programs for citizens.
“For the objectives that cannot be defended exhaustively, Romania should appeal to the population, which should be informed (which would be much more than alerting through RoAlert, or than MApN communiques), but also practically prepared about how it can contribute to civil air defense”wrote Hari Bucur-Marcu.
Referring to the incident in Galați, Hari Bucur-Marcu states that he bases his analysis on the information provided by the authorities and on the accounts of witnesses.
Referring to the incident in Galati, Hari Bucur-Marcu emphasizes that his analysis is based on the currently available information. The expert writes that, according to this data, the drone would have arrived in Romanian airspace after it had separated from a group of drones attacking targets in Ukraine, being tracked by radars until the impact with the block in Galati.
“If this is indeed the case, we are facing a serious incident”says the expert.
Hari Bucur-Marcu identifies two ways by which the incident could have been prevented. The first would have been the joint Romanian-Ukrainian management of the Ukrainian airspace in the area adjacent to Romania, which would also include combating hostile aerial targets with the potential to hit Romanian territory, even before they enter Romania's airspace.
In the opinion of Hari Bucur-Marcu, the incident could have been prevented if Bucharest had conveyed to the Russian Federation that it is unacceptable for the war waged against Ukraine to endanger, even without intention, the territory and citizens of Romania.
“It is unrealistic to demand that the Romanian state defend every block”
According to the security expert, there is an important difference between the defense against drones that accidentally arrive on Romanian territory and the defense in case of a deliberate attack.
“One is the air defense against the incidental presence of “stray” drones over Romania and the other is a deliberate attack with drones on the objectives on the territory of Romania”, says Hari Bucur-Marcu.
He points out that Romania benefits from its own defense capabilities and NATO guarantees in case of a deliberate attack, but warns that it is impossible to absolutely protect the entire territory against all air threats.
“It is unrealistic to demand that the state of Romania defend every block, every shed, every beam in the Danube Delta, every meadow where drones or fragments of drones from the Russian arsenal fall and which do not constitute a deliberate enemy attack on Romanian objectives”. claims the expert.
In his opinion, in addition to military and diplomatic measures, the authorities should pay more attention to preparing the population for such situations, so that people know exactly how to react when they receive warnings about possible aerial threats.
We remind you that, on Friday night, a drone crashed on a block of flats in Galati, the incident being followed by an explosion and fire at an apartment located on the 10th floor of the building. A RO-Alert message was issued for Brăila, Tulcea and Galați.
