Bulgarian Navy discovers unidentified drone in Black Sea
Photo: illustrative image of a vessel at sea (Getty Images)
The Bulgarian Navy discovered a drifting drone with a broken wing while patrolling the Black Sea. Military commanders ordered the dangerous object to be destroyed, according to The Sofia Globe.
According to Bulgaria's Ministry of Defense, the drone was spotted on July 21 about 21 nautical miles east of the town of Ahtopol. It was detected by Navy mine countermeasure units that had departed from the port of Burgas.
To inspect the object, the commander of the tactical group dispatched the Turkish minesweeper Akçay. Divers determined that the object drifting in the water was an unmanned aerial vehicle with a broken wing.
An underwater inspection found no visible munitions attached to the drone. However, military personnel could not rule out the presence of explosives inside, prompting a decision to destroy it.
During the operation, the Bulgarian minesweeper Struma and the Romanian minesweeper Dumitrescu patrolled the area and redirected civilian vessels. Ships operating nearby were also warned about the potential danger.
Following the divers' report, Capt. Petar Dimitrov, commander of the Bulgarian Navy's mine countermeasure group, authorized the destruction of the drone. The operation was completed successfully.
It was not the first such incident in the Black Sea. A day earlier, a damaged drone containing explosives was found along Türkiye's coast.
After inspecting the drone, bomb disposal experts destroyed it in a controlled explosion. The UAV visually resembled a Russian Gerbera drone, although its origin has not been officially confirmed.
