Two F-18 and two F-16 aircraft scrambled due to air target off Black Sea

The Ministry of National Defense (MapN) informed that on Thursday, at around 5:00 p.m., the radar surveillance system of the Romanian Army indicated a small aerial target in an area off the Black Sea, approximately 150 km east of Mihail Kogalniceanu, Constanya county."In line with procedures, the structures in the Extended Air Police Combat Service under NATO command, and later the Air Police under national command, were activated. As a result of the evolution of the aerial target on a route towards the Romanian state border, in order to monitor the situation, two F-18 aircraft of the Spanish Air Force and two F-16 aircraft of the Romanian Air Force were scrambled successively. The radar signal indicated the crossing of Romania's land border around 7:00 p.m., in the area of the Eforie Nord locality, later going in the direction of Topraisar", the MApN informed in a release.The MApN mentioned that the air surveillance radars continuously followed the target's route which penetrated into the national territory for a maximum distance of 14 km.The fighter aircraft did not have visual contact with it at any point on its path.The surveillance system lost the radar signal east of the town of Amzacea, around 7:20 p.m., the quoted source said.The termination of the air alert was transmitted at 8:15 p.m., and the combat aircraft returned to their bases."From the data available at this moment, the probability of the existence of an impact zone on the national territory was not indicated. The forces of the Ministry of National Defense will carry out searches in the area during the morning. The MApN informed the allied structures in real time about this situation, staying in permanent contact with them", the quoted press release emphasizes.   An Info South-East analysis made at the end of 2022 showed that less than 3% of Romanians would find place in civil protection shelters in case of need, according to data collected from all emergency situation inspectorates in the country. According to data collected from mayoralties, 4.8% of people living in residence cities in Romania would find room in refuge places. In Constanta and Tulcea, about 3-4% of people could find place in protection shelters.