Russian-made drones destroyed near Romania gas project

Romanian military divers carried out a controlled detonation of two Gerbera-type drones after the devices were found drifting about 90 nautical miles off the coast of Constanta, authorities said. Officials said the drones were spotted close to the Neptun Deep offshore gas project after a civilian vessel reported them while operating inside Romania’s exclusive economic zone.

Authorities said the recovered unmanned systems were identified as drones of Russian manufacture. Officials also said the systems were modeled on Iranian-designed unmanned platforms commonly associated with reconnaissance and strike missions.

Discovery in Romania’s exclusive economic zone

Officials said the initial sighting came from a Officials said the initial sighting came from a civilian vessel operating within Romania’s exclusive economic zone. The drones were later located and recovered, and authorities said they assessed the devices as military-grade hardware. Ukrainian officials formally denied that the drones belonged to Ukraine, officials said. With that denial recorded, Romanian authorities said the circumstances behind how the equipment entered the area remain unverified. Controlled explosion and safety measures at sea Romanian forces chose to neutralize the devices with a controlled blast, assigning military divers to handle the operation, according to officials. Authorities framed the detonation as a safety measure designed to reduce risk to maritime traffic and nearby commercial activity.

Officials did not publicly attribute the drones’ deployment to any actor, beyond confirming the manufacturing origin and the design lineage described in their assessment. They said the evaluation is continuing, including a review of potential implications for nearby shipping lanes.

Security focus near Neptun Deep and maritime borders

Officials described the incident as part of a wider security challenge for Romania, a NATO member state, connected to safeguarding maritime borders and critical energy infrastructure. They said the proximity of such hardware to an offshore gas project posed a direct risk to maritime safety and commercial operations in the area.

Romanian authorities also pointed to earlier incidents involving drone debris and unauthorized entries into airspace as factors that have increased monitoring requirements. Officials said the latest discovery reinforced the need for sustained vigilance in the Black Sea sector.

Ongoing review of risks to shipping and offshore energy assets Authorities said they are continuing to evaluate the threat environment for vessels operating in the area and for offshore energy projects. Officials said their focus includes protecting maritime boundaries and ensuring commercial operations are not disrupted by hazardous military equipment.

With the two drones destroyed and the circumstances of their presence still unclear, officials said further findings will depend on the continuing review. No additional technical details were released in the official account referenced in the source material.