Romanian Forces Destroy Russian Drone Near Black Sea Gas Project
On Thursday, security forces at the Neptun Deep offshore gas project in the Black Sea spotted an unwelcome visitor - a loitering naval drone, likely of Russian origin.
According to the Romanian defense ministry, an unidentified USV approached to within several hundred yards of an active work area at the Neptun Deep project, Romania's new multi-reservoir natural gas development off the coast of Constanta. Images from the scene show the drone within a short distance of a pipelayer's stinger.
The Romanian Coast Guard reported the incursion up the chain of command, and Romania's leaders responded. "In order to protect the lives of the several hundred people who were working on the platform and to secure the critical infrastructure, the decision to destroy the drone was made," said Romanian Defense Minister Radu Miruta in a statement. "For speed, two Romanian F-16 fighter jets were dispatched with a firing order."
The jets strafed the drone with their cannons, striking and disabling it. However, it remained intact, and EOD divers were dispatched to destroy it. The responders determined that it was full of explosives.
Two F-16AM Fighting Falcons with the Romanian Air Force were scrambled early Thursday to investigate an unidentified naval surface drone spotted near the Neptun Deep Project, a major European offshore natural gas field off the coast of Romania in the Black Sea.
— OSINTdefender (@sentdefender) August 20, 2026
On approach, the… pic.twitter.com/hyzMlzCxCM
Romania's president took the rare step of explicitly blaming Russia for the encounter. "I strongly condemn the intensification of these types of irresponsible incidents on the part of the Russian Federation," President Nicusor Dan said in a statement. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen labeled the attack "hybrid warfare," but declined to identify the owner of the drone.
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It is the latest in a long series of Russian incursions into Romanian territory, and follows just days after two Russian Gerbera-type aerial drones were found floating adrift near the project. The pair of drones were inspected and destroyed by Romanian military divers before they could cause any harm. Other recent Russian incursions include aerial drones entering Romanian airspace near the Ukrainian border, three of which had to be shot down in July.
The OMV / Romgaz-owned Neptun Deep is a major natural gas project, and happens to be located in the middle of one of the world's most hotly-contested waterways. Russia and Ukraine have repeatedly traded anti-shipping strikes in the region. Despite the war risk, work is ongoing: the semisub rig Transocean Barents is on scene and in the middle of a campaign to drill a series of 10 wells. Further development infrastructure includes three subsea production systems, the Neptun Alpha production platform (recently installed by contractor Saipem) and an 85-nautical-mile export pipeline back to shore. Total capital cost comes to about $4 billion, and the partners hope to see first gas in 2027.
