NATO Sends Patrol Aircraft and Drones to Guard Black Sea Shipping After Deadly Drone Attacks

NATO Sends Patrol Aircraft and Drones to Guard Black Sea Shipping After Deadly Drone Attacks

NATO is stepping up its watch over the Black Sea after a wave of drone attacks on commercial ships left sailors dead and missing. Following a meeting of the alliance's North Atlantic Council in Brussels on October 20, NATO announced it will send additional maritime patrol aircraft, radar systems, drones, intelligence personnel, and explosive-analysis teams to the region.

At least seven commercial vessels have been struck by drones this month in waters near Romania and Bulgaria — both NATO members. The attacks have killed at least two sailors and left more than 25 missing, turning a shipping-security problem into a crisis close to NATO territory. NATO officials say the immediate priority is better "situational awareness" through more sensors and intelligence sharing, rather than armed escorts for merchant ships.

NATO has not formally blamed any country for the strikes, though military analysts point to Russia, which has not acknowledged responsibility. A US Navy P-8A Poseidon reconnaissance aircraft is already patrolling the Bulgarian coast, and Romanian F-16s shot down two drones near the port of Sulina on October 17. EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas called the six suspected Russian drone strikes in ten days "a dangerous and unacceptable escalation," warning the attacks threaten Ukraine's grain exports and could trigger a perfect storm for global food supplies.

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