Romania spent around €1.5 million over three days to shoot down Russian drones
This is reported by the Romanian publication Digi24.
Over the course of these three days, Romanian F-16 fighter jets fired three AIM-9X missiles, each costing approximately $400,000 (meaning around $1.2 million was spent on the missiles).
The costs of flight hours and fighter jet maintenance were also added to this sum, bringing the total cost of these three operations to approximately €1.5 million.
According to Digi24, Romania is currently looking for cheaper ways to shoot down Russian drones. In particular, it has been suggested that drones could also be shot down using helicopters. Soldiers armed with machine guns would be on board to neutralise the drones — the publication suggests that this method is cheaper.
The statement also notes that Romania is due to receive two anti-drone systems in 2027. One of these is being manufactured by an Israeli company, whilst the other is being developed by Romania and Ukraine.
Since the start of the full-scale war in Ukraine, Russian drones have violated the country’s airspace 33 times. During this period, over 100 shelling incidents were recorded near the Ukrainian-Romanian border. In 2026 alone, the country scrambled its aircraft 34 times in response to attacks on Ukraine.
Follow us on Telegram
