Spanish NH90 helicopters and F/A-18 fighters scrambled in Romania

On 5 November 2026, two Spanish NH90 helicopters were scrambled from Mihail Kogălniceanu Air Base in Romania. Spanish F/A-18 fighters also took part in the response. NATO Allied Air Command reported the incident, according to Defence Industry Europe, a Polish portal covering the European defence industry.

According to the command, the response was triggered by the detection of unidentified unmanned aerial vehicles in Romania. At the time of publication, Flank had found no independent confirmation of this claim.

First such scramble for Spanish helicopters in the mission

NATO describes the incident as the first scramble by Spanish helicopters assigned to the allied air defence mission. This refers to Spain's participation in the mission, not to the first-ever use of helicopters for such tasks.

According to Defence Industry Europe, the two NH90s belong to the Spanish Air Force's 48th Wing and serve with the Paznic tactical detachment in Romania. The publication says Spain has deployed around 200 military personnel to Mihail Kogălniceanu for the NATO mission.

NH90s complement fighters against low-flying and slow-moving targets

The detachment commander, Lieutenant Colonel Alberto B. Lieutenant Colonel Alberto B. Calvo López explains, as quoted by Defence Industry Europe, that the helicopters give commanders greater flexibility against potential threats flying low or moving slowly. He says the NH90s do not replace the F/A-18s but complement them. The fighters can respond quickly over longer distances and have powerful sensors.

According to the Romanian publication Defense România, helicopters are also an option for intercepting unmanned aerial vehicles, while using air-to-air missiles costing hundreds of thousands of dollars is not a sustainable approach. This also matters for air defence in the Black Sea region, where allied forces have to coordinate the operations of different platforms. The scramble itself, however, provides no basis for assessing their combat effectiveness.

Separate report on a recent mission gives no details

The Romanian defence and security portal Defense Romania also reported on 8 November that Spanish NH90s had recently been scrambled on an operational mission in Romania. The report gives no exact date, number of helicopters or outcome, and does not separately confirm the detection of unmanned aerial vehicles on 5 November.

There has been no report of whether visual identification was carried out or weapons were used. A scramble in itself does not mean that a target was shot down.