Ukraine’s Ally Romania Destroys ‘Sea Baby’ Drone in the Black Sea

Ukrainian ally Romania destroyed a Sea Baby-type maritime drone in the Black Sea on Wednesday after identifying the drifting object as a direct risk to navigation.

Romania’s defense ministry said the mission was launched at the request of the Coast Guard after the object was detected at sea. Military explosive ordnance disposal divers from the 39th Divers Center were dispatched to the maritime area located about 36 nautical miles east of Constanța, with support from the Coast Guard surveillance ship MAI 1107.

After inspecting the object on site, the divers confirmed it was a Sea Baby-type unmanned surface vehicle, used by Ukraine. The team received approval to proceed with neutralization under standard operational procedures. The maritime drone was destroyed by controlled detonation at around 13:00 local time.

Since the start of the war in the region, Romania has maintained continuous surveillance of its maritime and river zones using naval ships and aircraft, working in coordination with other branches of the armed forces and NATO member states.

Freedom of navigation has been maintained for more than 12,000 commercial ships that have transited the Black Sea basin since February 2022, the ministry said.

Drifting sea mines continue to pose a major security risk. Around 150 sea mines have been neutralized across the Black Sea over the past four years, with seven destroyed by the Romanian navy.

Romania is also a member of the Mine Countermeasures Black Sea Task Group with Bulgaria and Turkey. Romanian naval forces assumed command of the task group six months ago.