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Spanish F-18s scramble 15 times over Romania
Spanish F-18s conducted 15 Alpha Scrambles during their first 30 days of NATO Quick Reaction Alert duty at Romania's Mihail Kogălniceanu Air Base. The Paznic detachment has maintained round-the-clock readiness since August 7, supported by NATO sensors, command-and-control networks, and a Spanish A400M tanker. During an August 16 alert, the fighters identified an unidentified drone at night and, after authorization and a ground-risk assessment, one aircraft destroyed it. Operational and training sorties exceeded 200 flight hours, demonstrating a broader integrated air-defense role rather than traditional interception-only air policing.