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Romania Asks Ukraine To Add Self-Destruct Function To Stray Drones, After One Exploded At Its Port

Tyler Durden's Photo
by Tyler Durden
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Errant Ukrainian drones which wonder across borders and into neighboring Baltic and Eastern European countries are becoming enough of a problem to where some NATO allies pushing for a self-destruct function. 

Romanian Defense Minister Radu Miruta has proposed that Ukraine program its maritime drones to self-destruct if they veer into the country's territorial waters, coming just on the heels of a major disaster.

AP image: explosion of errant Ukrainian drone at key Romanian port.

The remarks were prompted by a Magura-type kamikaze naval drone having exploded in Romania’s Black Sea port of Constanta on Friday. 

Others also detonated while still at sea east of the city, apparently close enough to Romanian waters to be of serious concern - though Ukraine's navy bit back by alleging that Russian signal jamming is to blame. 

Miruta said that "maritime drones can be programmed so that, if control is lost, they are unable to enter Romanian territorial waters and will self-destruct once they are 12 nautical miles from the coast."

"This should be a default feature built into the system from the moment the drone is launched into the water," he said.

The drone explosions were serious, just judging by the photographs and videos alone:

 A Ukrainian maritime drone that was being used in the country’s war against Russia exploded Friday at a Black Sea port in Romania, while three other sea drones exploded outside the port, Romanian authorities said. No one was hurt.

The drone that self-detonated in the port of Constanta exploded at around 10:30 a.m., after the area had been secured and isolated by the Romanian Intelligence Service, coast guard and the Defense Ministry, authorities said.

The Romanian government described in a statement: "Immediately after identifying the drone, the Ministry of Defense contacted its Ukrainian counterparts, who confirmed that they had lost control of the operation of four drones."

"The other three drones self-detonated — two offshore and the third outside the port," it added. "Confirmation of these events came from both the Ukrainian side and from data obtained by the Romanian authorities."

There have also been a lot of errant aerial drone incidents of late, prompting NATO to scramble aircraft and shoot them out of the sky. These aerial drones might need a self-destruct feature as well.

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