Romanian F-16 destroys maritime drone near Neptun Deep gas platform in the Black Sea

20 August 2026 A Romanian F-16 fighter jet destroyed a maritime drone near the Neptun Deep offshore gas platform in the Black Sea on Thursday, August 20, interim defense minister Radu Miruță announced. The operation was ordered to protect several hundred people working at the site and secure the critical infrastructure, he said. The Coast Guard announced the detection of the maritime drone several hundred meters from work underway at Neptun Deep, in Romania’s exclusive economic zone, around 80 miles east of Constanța. “A maritime drone was destroyed by the Romanian Army using the onboard cannon of a Romanian F-16 aircraft a few moments ago, in the area of the Neptun Deep platform in the Black Sea,” Radu Miruță wrote on Facebook on Thursday around noon. A command cell was established at the