How can Romania defend itself against Russian drones. “We don't have to wait for the EU defense wall”

Romania must act now to create a security architecture that will protect us from the increasingly frequent and naughty incidents caused by the Russians, says security analyst Cătălin Done. It explained step by step what such a structure entails.

Russian drones have become an increasing danger for Romania. PHOTO: Shutterstock

The penetration of Russian drones into Romania's airspace seems to become an almost daily incident.

After on Monday, a Turkish ship with 4,000 tons of LPG caught fire following a Russian drone attack, near Tulcea county, a drone penetrated on the night of Tuesday to Wednesday approximately 8 kilometers into the national airspace, causing the lifting of four combat aircraft from the ground and the issuing of two Ro-Alert messages in Tulcea and Galati counties, announced the Ministry of National Defense.

According to MApN, two Eurofighter Typhoon aircraft of the German Air Force, located at Base 57 Mihail Kogălniceanu in the “Reinforced Air Police” service, took off on the night of November 18 to 19, at 00:25, to monitor the air situation on the border with Ukraine“as a result of Russian air attacks in the vicinity of the river border with Romania”.

A few minutes before, at 00:20, the authorities sent a Ro-Alert message for the north of Tulcea county, after the radars detected “the signal of a drone that penetrated approximately 8 km into the national airspace, from Vâlcov towards Periprava and Chilia Veche, where it disappeared from the radar”.

The drone reappeared on radars intermittently for about 12 minutes, on a trajectory that indicated moving “from Colibași (Republic of Moldova) to Foltești (Galați county) and later in the area of ​​Oancea (Republic of Moldova)“. In this context, a second Ro-Alert message was sent for the north of Galati county, at 00:59.

To strengthen the mission, “two more aircraft, F-16s of the Romanian Air Force, were lifted from the 71st Air Base Câmpia Turzii“, states MApN.

The Eurofighter aircraft returned to Base 57 Mihail Kogălniceanu at 01:50, and the two F-16s landed at Câmpia Turzii around 02:30.

The Ministry of Defense announces that “no cases of impact with the ground of any air vehicle have been reported”, but teams of specialists remain in the field, “ready to start the search”.

“Romania does not have to wait for the EU drone wall”

What can Romania do to effectively manage these violations of Romanian airspace by Russian drones? Are we waiting for the “drone wall” proposed by the European Commission or are we starting the preparations? What are the first concrete steps we can take in this regard? How can we prepare our infrastructure for a rapid intervention by allied NATO troops, in the context of the European Commission's plan to give military transport operations priority access to transport networks, infrastructure and related services across the European Union during a crisis, which would allow exceptions to rules on driver working hours, national notification requirements and environmental or noise regulations? These are the questions we asked the security analyst Cătălin Done, vice president of ESGA Romania (Experts for Security and Global Affairs Association – Asociația Expertilor în Securitate și Affaire Globale).

“Clearly, Romania should not wait for the EU's “drone wall”. The main argument: the European Drone Defense Initiative was recently launched as a priority in the 2030 defense preparation package, but there are disputes regarding the cost, feasibility and who controls it; in practice, combined projects on a continental scale take years, encounter political oppositions and differences in approach between the states in the center/west and the countries on the flanks. The practical conclusion: Romania must act now at the national and regional level, to ensure immediately useful capabilities, interoperable with NATO and EU initiatives — not to wait for the European project to be completed”said Done.

Five steps that Romania can take quickly

The specialist believes that we need to create a practical, scalable and interoperable capability that detects, identifies, neutralizes and — if necessary — allows rapid cross-border reaction.

What does this mean? Done briefly explained the five steps that Romania can take in this regard:

– Layered detection — rapid installation of multi-spectrum sensors at critical nodes (AI-capable radar for UAS, RF sensors for link detection, electro-optical/pan-tilt for visual identification). Priority: ports, naval/military bases, airports, power plants).

– Mobile C-UAS teams equipped with detection + soft-kill kits (controlled jammers), net-catchers, escort/reconnaissance drones and SOPs for civil-military coordination.

– Vulnerability audit for ports (Tulcea, Constanța), energy centers, railway junctions; installation of UAS detection perimeters and isolation/evacuation procedures.

– Accelerated classical acquisitions + lease/loan from partners (eg: US/ISRAEL/UP KOREA mobile systems) to obtain capabilities in 6–12 months.

– Share-feed between Romania, NATO, EU, Ukraine about TTPs (tactics, techniques, procedures) used by actors operating drones.

Defense architecture that can protect Romania now

“Starting from this context, the strategic direction we must pursue is the creation of Defense Clusters – regional and inter-regional cooperation groups that bring together states, capabilities, defense industries and critical infrastructure around common priorities. This approach allows the immediate development of capabilities, in a flexible framework, but interoperable with NATO and compatible with European initiatives“, explains the expert.

The first natural cluster is, according to Done, that of the Black Sea, along with Bulgaria, Georgia and, inevitably, Ukraine. Here, Romania can play the role of a pivot state in coastal surveillance systems, anti-drone defense, port protection and naval mobility.

The second cluster is the Danube and Balkan cluster, which would include Greece, Bulgaria, Serbia, Albania and other interested states. “Here we are talking about land and rail corridors, rapid military logistics and protecting critical infrastructure – with a focus on anti-drone defense along transport routes”he points out.

The third cluster is that of the extended Eastern Flank, with Poland, the Baltic States and Finland. “It is a space where early warning capabilities, advanced radar systems and data integration become key elements. Romania can facilitate the connection between north and south on a strategic corridor Helsinki – Thessaloniki, turning into an essential link for the military mobility of the entire flank”the analyst points out.

The fourth cluster is technological and industrial, made in cooperation with the United States, Japan, South Korea, Israel, as well as with partner states in the Balkans and the Middle East. This is the element that can provide Romania with access to top technologies.

“This modular, scalable and allied-connected architecture gives us what no pan-European project can guarantee in the short term: the ability to protect Romania now, with tested, interoperable and integration-ready solutions”Done concluded.