Romanian Pilot's Account of Shooting Down a Drone in Estonia

Captain-Commander Alexandru Pavelescu, an F-16 pilot of the Romanian Air Force and patrol commander at Baza 86 Aeriană Borcea, has recounted his mission where he shot down a drone entering Estonia's airspace, part of NATO's Baltic air policing mission.

In a Facebook post by the Romanian Air Force, Pavelescu detailed how the mission unfolded. "I saw that all preparations work and even with real missiles. The skills developed during training missions are very important to deal with real situations," he stated.

The Romanian pilot explained that the target was initially detected only by radar, without visual identification. "In the first phase, I detected the drone only with radar, right at the entry into Estonia, without being able to identify it. Then, after 33 minutes, we were able to detect it again, identify it, and shoot it down," he recounted.

"It's a very pleasant feeling to see a missile launch and then see the impact on the target. I can say it's very similar to what we see in simulators, but it's an extraordinary feeling to have this real experience not just simulated. Here we work in cells of at least two aircraft, and the collaboration with the co-pilot was extraordinary," the F-16 pilot added.

Celebration Upon Return

Upon returning to base, his fellow pilots greeted him to the tune of "Top Gun Anthem." "My fellow pilots greeted me to the tune of 'Top Gun Anthem,' and I tend to believe they celebrated along with me the first aerial victory in the last 81 years. Even though it was just a drone, a Romanian F-16 launched an air-to-air missile that shot down an aerial target," Pavelescu declared.

"Some of them were waiting for me at the plane to congratulate me. The aircraft technicians were...