Supreme Council of National Defense established who makes the necessary decisions when an aircraft enters Romania's airspace without authorization

Defense Minister Ionut Mosteanu stated that at the Supreme Council of National Defense (CSAT) meeting, the legal framework regarding the intervention on unauthorized aircraft in Romania's airspace was completed: all institutions in the national defense system can define a list of objectives that must be protected - updated depending on the evolution of the real situation - and may include temporary objectives.

CSAT members also established who makes the necessary decisions in the event that an aircraft enters the country's airspace without authorization, explained Minister Ionut Mosteanu.

Ionut Mosteanu: We have the case of drones, unmanned aircraft, where we established through the ministerial order the detailed line of command, who does what and how. We have military and civilian piloted aircraft. In the case of military aircraft, the decision and the entire procedure is coordinated and carried out by the mission commander, in accordance with all NATO rules for intercepting military aircraft and we saw a recent case even in Estonia, there are gradual steps and the use of weapons and the destruction of an aircraft is a measure of last resort, if all other steps are ignored and the aircraft does not identify itself and does not leave Romanian airspace.

In the case of civilian piloted aircraft, Minister Mosteanu also indicated, the decision to shoot down remains with the minister, as before.

Translated by: Radu Matei