British fighter jets scrambled after Russian strike on Nato border

British RAF Eurofighter Typhoons had permission to engage Russian drones from a base in Romania. Photo / Getty Images

British Air Force fighters were scrambled in Romania overnight in response to a Russian drone attack on Ukraine.

Two RAF Eurofighter Typhoons were given permission to engage the Russian drones as they launched attacks on ports along the River Danube, which flows through or borders 10 countries, including Romania and Ukraine.

The Romanian Defence Ministry said the British jets, which were part of a wider Nato mission, had been scrambled from the 86th Air Base in Fetesti in the early hours of Saturday local time.

The British planes never entered Ukrainian airspace and did not engage Russian drones, the Romanian and United Kingdom defence ministries confirmed to Britain’s Daily Telegraph.

The typhoons tracked the drones, which were approaching Reni in Ukraine, where explosions were later reported. At that moment, contact with the drones was lost.

Romanian authorities recovered drone fragments in the south-eastern city of Galati following the overnight attack, which left an electricity pole and a household annex damaged, according to the Defence Ministry.

Emergency services later evacuated the area over fears the fragments could contain an explosive.

While drone fragments have routinely fallen on Romania, a member of Nato which shares a 643km land border with Ukraine, it marked the first time property had been damaged.

Romanian law allows it to shoot down drones during peacetime if lives or property are at risk, but it has not yet done so.

Radu Miruta, the Romanian Defence Minister, said that a United States-made, AI-powered counter-drone system would be integrated into national air defence systems in a matter of ⁠days ⁠after final tests.

The Merops system, developed by Project Eagle, would be able to counter drone threats along the Danube, as occurs in Poland already.

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