A June 5 incident in which a Ukrainian drone, reportedly disrupted by Russian electronic warfare, lost control and exploded near Constanța prompted concerns.
Romania wants Ukrainian naval drones to be programed to automatically self-destruct if they come close to its Black Sea territorial waters following a recent incident involving a stray unmanned vessel that detonated near its coast.
Defense Minister Radu Mîruță said in a interview on Thursday that he plans to raise the issue with Kiev, arguing that Ukrainian drones operating in the Black Sea should include safeguards preventing them from entering Romanian waters in the event of lost control.
He suggested that drones should be programmed to self-destruct at around 12 nautical miles from the Romanian coast if contact is lost.
“If you happen to lose them in the Black Sea, when they approach Romanian territorial waters at a distance of 12 nautical miles, the controller operating the drone should program it for automatic self-destruction,” Mîruță said.
The incident caused concern in the NATO member, hich borders Ukraine and shares a Black Sea coastline increasingly affected by the spillover of the war.
