The Armed Forces of Romania spent approximately 1.5 million euros over three days to shoot down Russian drones. According to Digi24, as reported by UNN, this expenditure occurred during three interception operations, during which three Russian drones were destroyed in the country’s airspace.
Most of these costs were for missiles launched from F-16 aircraft. The Romanian Ministry of Defense is exploring more cost-effective solutions, but the first drone defense systems are not expected to be operational until next year.
The F-16 fighters utilize AIM-9X missiles, each costing about 400,000 dollars. To destroy the three drones, three missiles were fired, bringing the total cost to approximately 1.2 million dollars.
In addition to this amount, costs for flight hours and aircraft maintenance are included. Consequently, the total cost of the three interception operations is estimated at around 1.5 million euros (equivalent to 1.7 million dollars).
Protecting the population remains a priority, regardless of the costs associated with such operations. However, the Romanian Armed Forces will struggle to sustain this level of expenditure in the long term if Russian drones continue to frequently violate the country’s airspace.
Violations of Romania’s airspace
Since the onset of the full-scale war near Romania’s border, more than 100 Russian attacks have been recorded. In 33 instances, Russian unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) breached the country’s airspace, prompting the scramble of fighter jets each time.
In approximately 50 cases, drone debris has been discovered on Romanian territory.
Source: UNN
