The Romanian pilot who shot down a drone in Estonia with an F-16 explains what was different in the Galati case

Captain-Commander Alexandru Pavelescu, the pilot who recently shot down a drone in Estonia and who was later decorated, explained the difference between that situation and the one in Galaţi, where a drone hit a block of flats and exploded.

“We are talking about two different situations. In the case of the Air Police mission in the Baltic area, the intercepted drone was in an operational environment where the use of weaponry did not generate a direct risk for the civilian population or for an urban area. In Galati, any decision to engage a target must take into account not only the threat it represents, but also the consequences that the interception could have on the people on the ground”, he declared captain-commander Costel-Alexandru Pavelescu.

According to him, the fragments resulting from the destruction of a drone or the uncontrolled change of its trajectory can produce unpredictable effects in a populated area.

“That's why the question is not “why did he shoot in Estonia”, but “would there have been the same consequences for a city like Galati”? And the answer is “most likely, no”, said the pilot.

“The role of the military is to eliminate threats, but also to protect people. Sometimes, the most difficult decision is to choose the solution that reduces the most risk for the population,” said Pavelescu.

Mission in Estonia

On May 19, a Romanian F-16 military plane from the NATO air police force for the Baltic countries shot down a drone of Ukrainian origin, deviated from its trajectory, in Estonia.

“Being on an air police mission in Lithuania, from the Romanian side, on board a Romanian F16 fighter plane, Captain Commander Pavelescu Costel-Alexandru managed to frame, engage and ground a drone that entered Estonian airspace,” Minister Miruță said.

“Around 11:00, two F-16 aircraft from the Carpathian Vipers Detachment were lifted into the air by the Combined Air Operations Center (CAOC) Uedem for an Air Police alert in the airspace of the area of ​​responsibility,” MApN explained.

“The pilots identified the target and went through all identification, engagement approval and risk mitigation procedures, after which they launched an air-to-air missile, shooting down a drone,” the ministry said.

What happened in Galați

A Russian-made drone fell on a block of flats in the city of Galati, on the night of Thursday to Friday. Two people were injured, a 53-year-old woman and her 14-year-old child.

Nicușor Dan said the drone was part of a group of 43, but “its trajectory changed and came towards Galati” when it was “probably hit over the city of Reni” in Ukraine.

“There was a group of 43 drones, which came from the eastern side, they crossed Ukraine at, say, 20-30 kilometers north of the Danube, from east to west. As they crossed the Ukrainian territory, some of them were shot down – and one of them, probably hit over the city of Reni, its trajectory changed and came towards Galati”, said the head of state, in press statements made at Galati where he traveled to talk to the victims and to go to the affected block.

The Ministry of National Defense has published two video clips in which it tries to explain why the drone that violated Romanian airspace was not shot down.

“We have one of the most advanced laws that allows us to neutralize drones that enter the national airspace without authorization. But it does not mean that we can use lethal weapons in a discretionary manner. We can use weapons, but only if the safety of citizens is not endangered”, explained MApN.

At the same time, the spokesperson of MapN, Colonel Cristian Popovici, explained in a dialogue with HotNews what are the real possibilities of our armed forces and how difficult it is for any country in the world to take down drones. The military stormed in a dialogue with HotNews.

“You can't fire the 2x30mm cannon. You can't barrage like Saddam Hussein (allusion to Iraqi air defenses during the Iraq War, when the Saddam Hussein regime fired massively but often inaccurately at American planes and missiles, no). I'm an artillery and anti-aircraft missile officer. There's also the method of barrage—when you can't see it, but you know the device is coming from a certain direction”, declared Popovici.