NATO and EU member Romania said its forces detected a suspicious “air balloon” in its airspace on Tuesday afternoon. Romania’s Ministry of Defence issued a statement saying: “The aerial surveillance system of the Romanian Air Force detected on Tuesday, February 14, at around 12:30, a small aerial target, having the evolution characteristics similar to a weather balloon, which was evolving at an altitude of about 11,000 meters in the national airspace, in the South-East of Romania.
“The Romanian authorities applied all standard procedures from the moment the object was detected, and two MiG-21 LanceR aircraft of the Romanian Air Force from the Air Police combat service under NATO command took off from the 86th Air Base in Fetești, around 12:40, being directed to the area where the air target was reported.
“The crews of the two aircraft did not confirm the presence of the aerial target, neither visually nor on the onboard radars. The aircraft were kept in the area for about 30 minutes, for the full clarification of the air situation, after which they returned to the air base.
“The Romanian Air Force constantly monitors, in cooperation with the Allied forces, the national airspace and the area in the vicinity.”
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