Romania scrambled allied fighter jets and helicopters on Sunday after military radar tracked two unidentified aerial targets near Snake Island in the Black Sea, close to the country's coastline.

Romania's Ministry of National Defence said its radar surveillance system detected the first target on Sunday afternoon, 8 November, roughly 30 kilometres east of Snake Island. The object was inside Ukrainian airspace and later disappeared from radar east of Sulina, the ministry said.

A little later, a second target appeared about 55 kilometres west of Snake Island, a position closer to the Romanian shoreline and the mouths of the Danube. The reports do not establish what either object was, and the ministry has not said the targets were drones.

Two Spanish Air Force F-18 Hornet jets, deployed at Mihail Kogalniceanu air base in Constanta county for Romania's reinforced air policing mission under allied command, took off to intercept the first target. After the second contact was detected, two Spanish NH-90 helicopters lifted off from the same base to cover the new sector and check the low-altitude flight ceiling of the object.

According to the ministry, the crews flew patrol and reconnaissance missions in airspace next to Romania's territorial waters to prevent any breach of national territory. Romanian media outlets Mediafax and Digi24 both placed the aircraft launches on Sunday afternoon.

The National Military Command Centre notified the General Inspectorate for Emergency Situations, and a RO-Alert warning went out to residents of eastern Tulcea county. The message warned of a possible drone incursion, told people to keep calm and shelter in cellars or civil protection shelters, and advised anyone without a shelter to stay indoors, away from windows and exterior walls.

A second RO-Alert followed for northern Tulcea county. Mediafax reported that the first air alarm in the county ended at 15:26, while Digi24 placed the first alert at around 15:00, so the reports differ on the precise timing. The ministry said it would return with more information.

No impact or damage on the ground has been reported, and the ministry has not said that any debris was found. The episode comes amid continuing attacks on Ukrainian port infrastructure and shipping routes in the Black Sea basin, which have repeatedly put Romanian air defences on alert in recent weeks.

Separately, Radio Romania International reported in its Sunday evening update that another aerial target was detected near the border with Romania, prompting two Romanian Air Force F-16 fighter jets to scramble from the 86th Air Base in Fetesti, in south-eastern Romania.

The ministry said it would keep monitoring the airspace and international waters through the national radar network.