Romania asks Ukraine to modify drones following Black Sea incident
Multipurpose unmanned surface vehicle Sea Baby (Photo: Vitalii Nosach, RBC-Ukraine)
Romania has approached Ukraine with a proposal to change the algorithm for operating naval drones. Bucharest is also holding negotiations regarding the strengthening of its air defense system following a recent drone incident, according to Radio România.
Romania proposed changing the algorithm for Ukrainian UAV operations
Acting head of Romania's Ministry of Defense, Radu Miruță, stated that he had sent an official request to the Ukrainian side regarding the operation of drones over the Black Sea waters.
According to him, Bucharest considers it appropriate to provide for a mechanism under which Ukrainian drones would be automatically destroyed if they accidentally enter Romania's territorial waters.
"I have officially sent a request to the Minister of Defense of Ukraine, in which I indicated that for Romania it is appropriate to announce that any drone launched into the Black Sea and produced in Ukraine must be programmed in such a way that, if it accidentally enters Romania's territorial waters, under any conditions, it would spontaneously explode," he said.
According to Miruță, this can be achieved through pre-programming the drone: even if communication is lost, the built-in microprocessor will autonomously decide to self-destruct upon entering Romania's territorial waters.
He noted that such an algorithm could operate autonomously, without constant communication with the operator, since the device's built-in microprocessor is capable of making the decision to self-destruct.
Romania expects to strengthen its air defense
In addition, the acting minister said that Bucharest continues negotiations with allies regarding the deployment of additional air defense assets on the country's territory.
According to him, the need to strengthen defense became particularly urgent after the drone incident near Galați.
"This decision ultimately depends on the countries that will make such a decision. Negotiations with three of these countries are at an advanced stage, but since this is a delicate issue for each country, it is appropriate to allow them to announce the completion of all internal procedures necessary for sending additional assets here," he stated.
Miruță also said that he had approached partners with a request to provide Romania with additional means for detecting and surveilling aerial targets capable of operating at low altitudes.
Recall that President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that, to strengthen the defense of Odesa and the entire Black Sea region, Ukraine plans to deploy a new line of defense whose basis will be interceptor drones.
