Gen. Christopher Donahue, leader of U.S. Army Europe and Africa and NATO Allied Land Command, walks with Romanian Defense Minister Ionut Mosteanu on Nov. 25, 2025, at Mihail Kogalniceanu Air Base in southeastern Romania. (Breanna Bradford/U.S. Army)
STUTTGART, Germany — New counter-drone technology will soon be operational in Romania, the top U.S. Army commander in Europe said this week on the heels of yet another suspected Russian incursion into the country’s airspace.
“We have tested it, and it is in the final stages of being employed,” U.S. Army Europe and Africa’s Gen. Christopher Donahue said Tuesday during a stop at Mihail Kogalniceanu Air Base, where he also met with American troops.
Donahue was likely alluding to the new Merops system, which has been billed as a cost-effective technology using artificial intelligence to navigate, detect and down opposing drones.
Last week, Polish and Romanian troops practiced alongside Americans using the weapon, which has already been battle-tested by Ukrainian troops in combat.
Donahue’s stop came on the heels of a Pentagon announcement last month that the U.S. is reducing its troop numbers in Romania.
The decision involved an end to the rotation of a U.S. Army brigade to the Black Sea region, which had been part of a broader buildup in Europe in the aftermath of Russia’s 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
As a result of the decision, about 700 soldiers who had been positioned in Romania were not backfilled following their recently finished deployment. The U.S. still has about 1,000 troops based in the country, however.
A German Eurofighter Typhoon flies over Romania on Aug. 2, 2025. Two German Typhoons scrambled from Mihail Kogalniceanu Air Base on Nov. 25, to monitor an airspace violation by a drone emanating from neighboring Ukraine, the Romanian defense ministry said in a statement. (Justin Lacy/U.S. Army)
“Romania will always be the central feature of this part of the alliance,” Donahue said, adding that “the U.S. is committed” to its military presence in the Black Sea country.
His comments came the same day NATO jets were scrambled in response to a violation of Romanian airspace by a drone emanating from neighboring Ukraine, the Romanian defense ministry said in a statement.
Two German Eurofighter Typhoons took off from the air base to monitor the situation, the ministry said. Romanian fighter planes also took flight in response.
A drone traveled about 60 miles into Romania, according to the statement.
“We are dealing with a new Russian provocation against Romania, a drone which the Romanian army and German Eurofighters have tried to shoot down,” Defense Minister Ionut Mosteanu said, as quoted by Reuters. “My assumption is that (the pilots) analyzed the potential collateral damage and ... chose not to engage.”
Fragments of the suspected Russian drone were later found on Romanian territory.
There have been numerous drone incursions into Romania during the Russia-Ukraine war. Poland also has faced such intrusions.
Mihail Kogalniceanu Air Base, referred to as “MK” by U.S. troops, has long served as a hub for American forces in the Black Sea region.
Romania has invested billions into the facility over the years with the aim of boosting NATO members’ troop presence in the country.
