Romania's defence minister and ex‑army chief spar over MEROPS anti‑drone system

Former chief of the Romanian General Staff, retired General Ștefan Dănilă, challenged interim defence minister Radu Miruță’s claim that the newly integrated MEROPS anti‑drone system will stop any drone from entering Romania’s airspace. Dănilă argued that no system can guarantee a 100 % success rate, noting that even the United States and Israel have not achieved such performance. He warned against creating “false expectations” and highlighted the difference between protecting objectives versus borders, adding that reaction times often prevent immediate neutralisation of intruding drones.

Miruță had announced that the MEROPS system, supplied by the United States under a strategic partnership and operationalised in June, provides a new protection zone. The system employs artificial‑intelligence‑based algorithms to detect, track and neutralise low‑altitude, small‑size aerial targets.