During the Parliamentary session on 19 February, the Romanian Parliament has voted and adopted new legislature that allows the army to detect and shot down drones.
During the discussions regarding the vote, the conservative parties have stood against the adoption of the new legislature that allows the Romanian Air Forces to proper conduct actions to protect the integrity of the countries air space. The main argument presented being the need to not escalate a conflict with the Russian Federation.
Pro-European political parties, have stated that the new law will allow Romania to send a clear message to foreign states that disregard the integrity of its borders, by countering any military incursion in the proximity of its borders.
According to the document, the Romanian Military can adopt the following measures against aircraft that don’t have authorisation to use the airspace:
- Identification of the aircraft position and radio connection in order to identity the sender of the aircraft;
- Transmission of information towards the pilot regarding the misuse of the Romanian Air Space;
- Interception of the aircraft;
- Firing warning shots towards the intercepted aircraft;
- Firing strike shots towards the intercepted aircraft;
Romanian news agency „Europa Liberă” had documented 26 incidents in which drones launched by the Russian Federation against Ukrainian targets had either approached or entered the Romanian Air Space, near the boarder in Tulcea and Galați counties.
