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Romanian authorities have released images of F-16s engaging and destroying suspected jet-powered Geran-4 drones inside Romania’s territorial airspace over the Black Sea.

The incident occurred on Saturday Oct. 17, with the drone incursions both taking place at around 1800 local time (1500 UTC). The first drone spent approximately two minutes inside Romanian airspace before being downed, and the second maneuvered in sovereign airspace for around five minutes before being destroyed. 

Romanian F-16 fires an AIM-9 Sidewinder to engage and destroy a Russian Geran-4 drone. | Source: Romanian Ministry of National Defence

Two F-16s were scrambled from the 86th Air Base (Borcea) in response to the drones, intercepting and destroying them just 15-20 minutes after taking off. 

According to the Romanian Ministry of National Defence, the drones were intercepted around 120 kilometers east of Snake Island. Snake Island, also known as Zmiinyi Island, is a Ukrainian territory that has played a role in determining the maritime borders between Romania and Ukraine.

Map demonstrating the approximate location of the intercept, according to details released by Romanian authorities. | Source: OpenStreetMap with annotations by The Aviationist

It became famous on the first day of Russia’s 2022 full scale invasion of Ukraine when, faced by a Russian naval occupation force demanding surrender, its small complement of Ukrainian soldiers issued the radio message “Russian warship, go **** yourself”. The island was captured, but Russian forces then fled in June 2022 following a sustained Ukrainian airstrike campaign.

On Sunday, Oct. 18, Romanian Defence Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Radu Miruta said: “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.”

“This is the first time we’ve shot down drones like these.”

Geran-4 drones are an evolved variant of the ubiquitous Geran-2, which is the Russian designation for Iran’s Shahed 136.

In place of the Geran-2’s piston engine, which allowed maximum speeds of only around 115 mph, a turbojet power unit provides the Geran-4 with the capability of travelling above 300 mph. 

Footage of a Ukrainian Air Force MiG-29 Fulcrum shooting down a Russian Geran-4 attack drone at near point-blank range over Kyiv using its 30mm cannon. https://t.co/wjuTuwX7z6

— OSINTtechnical (@Osinttechnical) October 7, 2026

Russia has frozen production of Geran-3 drones and is ramping up production of the Geran-4.

The Geran-4 develops speed up to 500 km/h, carries a warhead up to 90 kg and can be manually controlled.

Via Militarnyi
#Geran #Shahed #Geran3 #Geran4 https://t.co/W83g5188Uk

— Drone Wars (@Drone_Wars_) August 11, 2026

This two to three fold increase in effective speed, combined with a new stronger airframe (the previous generation Geran-3, now reportedly withdrawn, used a jet engine with an otherwise identical chassis), allows Geran-4 to complete high-load maneuvers at higher speeds and lower altitudes, making it a more difficult target for air defences to counter. 

RFE/RL takes apart a Russian Geran-4 drone to uncover what makes the jet-powered unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) faster, harder to intercept, and capable of operating deep inside Ukraine — from its turbojet engine and advanced camera to foreign-made communications and navigation components. @cxemu @radiosvoboda

— Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (@RFERL) September 25, 2026

Ukraine recorded the first strikes using the Geran-4 in May 2026. More recently, reports have emerged suggesting that Russia has begun to modify the drone with Russian-built engines supplanting the factory default Chinese Telefly units, alongside new guidance systems and warhead variants to increase the drone’s flexibility. 

Russian forces carried out a drone strike on a Ukrainian supermarket in Odessa this morning.

A Geran-4 slammed into a busy Tavria V supermarket in Mayaky, injuring multiple people and setting the building ablaze. https://t.co/iuDmascrvV

— OSINTtechnical (@Osinttechnical) October 15, 2026

As well as an upgrade to the existing inertial navigation guidance, Russia is believed to have developed and fitted a system which allows for visual navigation by comparing received images from an onboard optical camera with pre-loaded images. There are a number of limitations that hamper this type of guidance – different lighting, weather conditions, and changes to a landscape can cause misidentification – but it is intended to operate alongside rather than in place of existing guidance capabilities. 

The default warhead, a blast-fragmentation device, can now be switched out for a Russian-developed KRSN warhead with a shaped cutting charge. This means the Geran-4 could now be reliably deployed to cause specific structural damage to critical infrastructure, including bridges, power line pylons, communication towers, or even rail lines. 

Russia’s plans for 2026 will prioritize procurement of jet-powered Geran-4 and Geran-5 over the Geran-2, as well as a series of cheap cruise missiles, which will also incorporate AI-guidance and heavier warheads, the S-71K (150R) is supposed to have a 1,500 kg payload. The heavier payloads and increased accuracy will present a greater threat to bridges, dams, and underground facilities.

— Rob Lee (@RALee85) October 10, 2026

Neighboring Moldova has also reported a recent increase in the number of drones found inside its territorial borders. “These incidents pose a threat to citizens’ safety ​and show the direct consequences for regional stability of Russia’s aggressive ‌war ⁠against Ukraine,” Moldova’s Foreign Ministry said.

Last week, drones struck and severely damaged two chemical tankers off the coast of Romania, near to where these two new drones were downed. A ‘swarm’ of Russian drones had been detected near Snake Island around the same time, and Russia later claimed responsibility for attacking two ships it claimed were supporting Ukraine’s war effort (though it did not outright confirm that these were the two ships in question). 

On Thursday, Oct. 15, Romania’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Toiu Oana wrote: “In its war of aggression against Ukraine, against all provisions of international law, Russia is making the Black Sea into a dangerous area for civilian ships. The killing of merchant mariners in the region and all over the world is a crime. Russia bears full responsibility for these developments.”

Romanian air and naval units of the Coast Guard (GdC/MAI) and Emergency Situation Service (IGSU/MAI) are actively engaged in search& rescue operations, searching for the missing members of the crew of the ship that was attacked this morning in Romania’s exclusive economic zone at the Black Sea.

The 5 crew members that were already taken by helicopter to the hospital in Constanta are stable, some receive medical care for burns and smoke inhalation.

In its war of aggression against Ukraine, against all provisions of international law, Russia is making the Black Sea into a dangerous area for civilian ships. The killing of merchant mariners in the region and all over the world is a crime. Russia bears full responsibility for these developments.

Over the last 24 hours, four merchant ships were targeted, including in Romanian territorial waters and its economic exclusive zone and eight lives were lost.
Our condolences to the families that have lost a loved one.

These are callous and murderous attacks against civilians. This happens at the same time that we see an increasing number of Russian Shahed and other types of air and maritime drones entering our space, three of them just today. Our military has lifted fighter jets for preventive air policing.

We informed the Allies and our European partners of the latest incidents. Investigations are under way and we are closely coordinating with our Allies and partners and we will step up efforts to strengthen NATO’s collective ability to respond effectively to such incidents and reinforce its deterrence and defence posture.

We agreed that North Atlantic Council will be convened within days by Secretary General Mark Rutte, after a meeting with President Nicușor Dan and prime minister of Bulgaria, Rumen Radev.

We continue to ask for a ceasefire at the Black Sea to stop the risk on civilian ships and restore safety of navigation on an essential global food trade artery.

— Toiu Oana (@oana_toiu) October 15, 2026

“These are callous and murderous attacks against civilians. This happens at the same time that we see an increasing number of Russian Shahed and other types of air and maritime drones entering our space, three of them just today. Our military has lifted fighter jets for preventive air policing.”

According to the most recently available reports, as many as seven members of crew are still missing as a result of these attacks.