French Rafale sent to intercept Russian drone which never entered Polish airspace; earlier Romanian F-16s decided against shooting down Geran kamikaze loitering munition

One of the French Rafale fighters, which is based in Poland as part of NATO's Eastern Sentry military operation, was scrambled to intercept what the United States-led military alliance claims was another potential incursion from Russian drones. The incident took place on September 13, and a Polish Air Force helicopter was also launched along with the Rafale

“The response was fast, and the alert was over quickly. The limited use of assets was correct and calibrated to the potential threat perceived, which speaks to the utility of Eastern Sentry,” said U.S. Air Force Gen. Alexus G. Grynkewich, Supreme Allied Commander Europe in a NATO press release about the alleged Russian drone incursion.

However, a day later, Poland’s operational command clarified that no Russian drone had violated its airspace. But the country maintained that several Russian drones entered Poland's airspace on September 10 following which NATO fighters including the F-35 stealth jets were scrambled.


The September 10 violation of Polish airspace by alleged Russian drones led to NATO starting Eastern Sentry military operation.

When F-16 jets took aim at Russian drones

The same day, Romanian Defense Ministry claimed a Russian Geran drone entered its airspace. The drone remained in Romanian airspace for almost 50 minutes on September 13 before it turned towards Ukraine after the Romanian Air Force sent two F-16 Fighting Falcons to intercept it. Two German Eurofighter Typhoon combat aircraft were also scrambled from the Mihail Kogălniceanu Air Base.

"A Geran drone used by the Russian Federation in attacks on Ukraine entered Romanian airspace on Saturday, September 13, at 6:05 p.m. and was intercepted by two F-16 fighter jets, which were carrying out an air patrol mission in northern Dobruja. The drone orbited for approximately 50 minutes, from NE of Chilia Veche to SW of Izmail, and left the national airspace near the town of Pardina, heading towards Ukraine. The F-16 aircraft had intermittent contact with the target, visually and by radar, tracking it throughout its evolution," the Romanian Ministry of National Defense press statement said.

The F-16 pilots were given the authorization to shoot down the drone, but they decided not to fire after assessing the collateral risks involved.

Russian Geran drones are a clone of Iran's Shahed loitering munition. they are also known as a kamikaze or suicide drone, and dive into their targets to destroy them. Russia has launched thousands of such drones against Ukraine.