On October 17, the Romanian Air Force’s F-16 Fighting Falcons were deployed to shoot down two Russian jet-powered drones. The jets reportedly used Sidewinder air-to-air missiles instead of the onboard Vulcan cannon they used to neutralize a Russian drone earlier in August 2026.
A pair of F-16 fighter jets were scrambled to shoot down two drones over Romania’s territorial waters, Romanian Defense Minister Radu Miruta announced. The aircraft were scrambled from the Borcea Air Base at 5:43 p.m. local time, immediately after the Romanian radar system detected a group of aerial targets flying around 120 kilometers east of Snake Island in the Black Sea.
“The first was shot down at 18:01, southeast of Sulina, after maneuvering for two minutes in national airspace, and the second, at 18:05, east of Sulina, after a five-minute maneuver in national airspace,” the press release stated.
Miruta identified the drones that entered the country’s airspace as new-generation Russian drones flying at speeds similar to those of fighter jets. “The ones from last night were flying at 450 km/h, which leads us to think they were Russian-made Geran-4 drones with a turboprop engine,” Miruta said. “This is the first time we’ve shot down drones like these.”
Russian drones have entered Romanian airspace multiple times in the ongoing conflict, triggering tensions between the two countries and sparking fears of the war spilling over into NATO territory. Romania and Ukraine share a 614-kilometer border, most of which is along the Danube.
In fact, Romania started shooting down Russian drones earlier this year. In July 2026, the Chief of Staff, General Gheorghita Vlad, said that the F-16 shot down a Russian drone, which appeared to be a Shahed. “Visually, the pilots reported the drone looked to be a Shahed type,” he had stated at the time.
Notably, the Romanian F-16s downed Russian drones that had entered its airspace on three different occasions in July 2026. However, this may be the first time its Fighting Falcons have neutralized a jet-powered Geran-4, the faster, improved version of the one-way attack drone that has troubled Ukraine’s embattled forces for months.
F-16s vs Gerans
Although it’s based on the same Shahed-136, or Geran-2, the Geran-4 is powered by a turbojet that gives it extremely high speeds and altitudes, making it hard for ground-based AD systems or interceptor drones to neutralize.
Thanks to its redesign and jet engine, the Geran-4 can reach approximately 450–500 kilometers/hour and operate at altitudes of up to 5,000 meters.
Unlike the relatively slow, piston-powered Gerans, the jet-powered variants’ higher speed sharply reduces the time available for detection, tracking, and interception, as previously explained by the EurAsian Times.
The Romanian Defense Ministry did not disclose which weapon the F-16 fired to down the intruding Geran-4 drones. However, a Romanian F-16 carries two air-to-air missiles: the short-range AIM-9X Sidewinder and the AIM-120 AMRAAM active radar-guided missile. Additionally, it is equipped with the M61A1 Vulcan 20 mm six-barrel Gatling gun.
In a previous instance, on August 20, 2026, a Romanian Air Force F-16 used its 20mm M61A1 Vulcan cannon to destroy an explosive-laden maritime drone sailing near the Neptun Deep gas platform in the Black Sea. However, the cannon fire did not completely destroy the drone, and a Romanian Navy explosive-ordnance-disposal (EOD) team subsequently stepped in and neutralized it.
In the latest instance involving the two fast-moving Geran-4 drones, it is highly unlikely an F-16 pilot would have used the onboard Vulcan cannon, even though it is perfectly capable against relatively slow-moving Geran-2 drones. This is because a small, fast-moving, jet-powered Geran is typically a difficult target to engage safely and consistently with a gun, which requires a smaller gap between the aircraft and the target.
Vulcan fires up to 100 rounds per second, so it can put a dense stream of rounds through the firing area. However, the hard part in such an engagement may be aiming that stream at a small, very fast-moving target across the fighter’s line of sight, which should rule out onboard cannon given that these missions are time-sensitive.
Moreover, Geran-4 carries a big explosive warhead. If detonated, the warhead fragments could damage the F-16, especially at close range.
In a previous instance in September 2025, a Russian drone entered Romanian airspace for 50 minutes during an attack on Ukraine, following which it was intercepted by the F-16. However, the Romanian aircraft did not fire because of concerns about collateral damage during the engagement.
In this incident, the pilots tracking Geran-4 may have similarly decided to destroy the drones in a single shot, in the safest way possible: using an air-to-air missile instead of the onboard cannon, which would have been far cheaper.
Military observers and dedicated OSINT analysts on X also pointed to an image released by the MoD showing a missile launch plume and a fireball over the sea, along with a rail-mounted air-to-air missile visible under the wing. They surmised that this was oddly inconsistent with gunfire from the internal M61 Vulcan 20 mm cannon, which produces a very different visual and acoustic signature.
The Romanian F-16 pilots most likely used the Sidewinder to neutralize the drones, as they did in the July 2026 shootdown.
Romanian F-16s routinely carry AIM-9 Sidewinder-family missiles, including the AIM-9M and the more modern AIM-9X Block II, for air policing and short-range engagements.
While the aircraft is also equipped with combat-proven AIM-120 AMRAAM, the F-16 pilots most likely used the Sidewinder to shoot down the drones because it is a short-range, heat-seeking weapon well suited to an engagement where the F-16 can visually or otherwise closely identify a drone. Meanwhile, the AIM-120 is designed primarily for radar-guided engagements at medium to long range.
The AIM-120 AMRAAM could also destroy a drone, but its extra range and capabilities are not necessary for that kind of mission.
Furthermore, the Romanian pilots may have used the Sidewinder because it uses passive infrared imaging to track a target’s heat. Since the incoming Geran-4 variants were outfitted with hotter, louder turbojet engines rather than older piston variants, they likely presented highly visible thermal signatures for heat-seeking optics.
Moreover, if the F-16 has already closed in enough to identify and track the drone—as available information suggests—the Sidewinder would have had everything it needed to shoot it down.
It is also worth noting that although both the Sidewinder and the AMRAAM are exponentially more expensive than the Geran-4 and impose high costs on Romania, an AMRAAM generally costs more than a Sidewinder. Therefore, using it against a relatively inexpensive one-way attack drone can unnecessarily consume a more expensive weapon, making the Sidewinder a more plausible option.
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