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On 10 March 2022 at 23:01
CET CET or cet may refer to: Places * Cet, Albania * Cet, standard astronomical abbreviation for the constellation Cetus * Colchester Town railway station (National Rail code CET), in Colchester, England Arts, entertainment, and media * Comcast En ...
, an unidentified
Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...
-made
Tupolev Tu-141 The Tupolev Tu-141 Strizh ("Swift"; ) is a Soviet reconnaissance drone that served with the Soviet Army during the late 1970s and 1980s, as well as the Ukrainian Armed Forces since 2014. Development The Tu-141 was a follow-on to the Tupolev ...
reconnaissance In military operations, military reconnaissance () or scouting is the exploration of an area by military forces to obtain information about enemy forces, the terrain, and civil activities in the area of operations. In military jargon, reconnai ...
unmanned aerial vehicle An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) or unmanned aircraft system (UAS), commonly known as a drone, is an aircraft with no human pilot, crew, or passengers onboard, but rather is controlled remotely or is autonomous.De Gruyter Handbook of Dron ...
(UAV) crashed in
Zagreb Zagreb ( ) is the capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Croatia#List of cities and towns, largest city of Croatia. It is in the Northern Croatia, north of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the ...
, the capital of
Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...
. With an unidentified operator and unknown destination, the origin of the drone is presumed to be connected to military actions during the
Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, , starting the largest and deadliest war in Europe since World War II, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, conflict between the two countries which began in 2014. The fighting has caused hundreds of thou ...
. The drone's flight over Croatia, Hungary and Romania (all three being
NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental Transnationalism, transnational military alliance of 32 Member states of NATO, member s ...
states) prompted criticism of the countries' defense systems as the UAV was detected but not cleared. In response, the Croatian government
restricted airspace Restricted airspace is an area of airspace typically used by the military in which the local controlling authorities have determined that air traffic must be restricted or prohibited for safety or security concerns. It is one of many types of s ...
over populous cities and received military support from France and the United States who dispatched multiple fighter-jets to Croatia days later for joint exercises.


Background

The Tupolev Tu-141 "Strizh" is a
Soviet-era The history of the Soviet Union (USSR) (1922–91) began with the ideals of the Russian Bolshevik Revolution and ended in dissolution amidst economic collapse and political disintegration. Established in 1922 following the Russian Civil War, ...
unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) developed in the late 1970s. Weighing nearly six tons, it is launched from a truck-mounted platform with a pre-programmed flight path. Upon mission completion, the drone deploys parachutes for recovery and reuse. Its operational range is approximately 1,000 km (620 mi).Munson ''Air International'' August 1997, p. 101. During the
2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, , starting the largest and deadliest war in Europe since World War II, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, conflict between the two countries which began in 2014. The fighting has caused hundreds of thou ...
, the Tu-141 was repurposed by Ukrainian forces for long-range reconnaissance and strike missions. Notably, in December 2022, modified Tu-141 drones were reportedly used in attacks on Russian airbases at
Ryazan Ryazan (, ; also Riazan) is the largest types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and administrative center of Ryazan Oblast, Russia. The city is located on the banks of the Oka River in Central Russia, southeast of Moscow. As of the 2010 C ...
and
Engels Friedrich Engels ( ;"Engels"
''
Kyiv Kyiv, also Kiev, is the capital and most populous List of cities in Ukraine, city of Ukraine. Located in the north-central part of the country, it straddles both sides of the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2022, its population was 2, ...
that resulted in civilian casualties.


Flight and crash

The unmanned aerial vehicle entered
Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...
n airspace around 23:23 EET, where it was observed by the
Romanian Air Force The Romanian Air Force (RoAF) () is the air force branch of the Romanian Armed Forces. It has an air force headquarters, an operational command, five air bases, a logistics base, an air defense brigade, an air defense regiment and an ISR (Intel ...
and flew for 3 minutes. Afterwards, it continued flying through Hungarian airspace for the next 40 minutes at about altitude, where it was also observed by the
Hungarian Air Force The Hungarian Air Force (, ), is the air force branch of the Hungarian Defence Forces. The primary focus of the present Hungarian Air Force lies in defensive operations. The flying units operate are organised into a single command; under the A ...
. It then entered
Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...
n airspace flying at a speed of and altitude of , where it was picked up by Croatian military radar. After spending seven minutes in Croatian airspace, it crashed in the
Jarun Jarun () is a neighborhood in the southwestern part of Zagreb, Croatia. It was named after Lake Jarun, formed by the Sava River, now located on the southern edge of the neighborhood. Lake The lake is the location of the Jarun sports and leisure ...
neighborhood of the capital, some away from the Stjepan Radić Student Residence Hall of
Zagreb University The University of Zagreb (, ) is a public research university in Zagreb, Croatia. It is the largest Croatian university and one of the oldest continuously operating universities in Europe. The University of Zagreb and the University North are th ...
. The impact damaged 96 cars parked nearby and woke up students residing in the university dormitory. The
Seismological Service of Croatia Faculty of Science (,lit. the Faculty of natural sciences and mathematics abbr: ''PMF'') is a faculty of the University of Zagreb that comprises seven departments - biology, physics, chemistry, mathematics, geophysics, geography and geology. Th ...
recorded
seismic wave A seismic wave is a mechanical wave of acoustic energy that travels through the Earth or another planetary body. It can result from an earthquake (or generally, a quake), volcanic eruption, magma movement, a large landslide and a large ma ...
s at the time of the UAV's impact with an
epicenter The epicenter (), epicentre, or epicentrum in seismology is the point on the Earth's surface directly above a hypocenter or focus, the point where an earthquake or an underground explosion originates. Determination The primary purpose of a ...
very close to the actual crash site.


Investigation

Croatian civil and military police quickly sealed off the crash perimeter. The next morning, American analyst Tyler Rogoway identified the aircraft to most likely be a
Soviet era The history of the Soviet Union (USSR) (1922–91) began with the ideals of the Russian Bolshevik Revolution and ended in dissolution amidst economic collapse and political disintegration. Established in 1922 following the Russian Civil War, ...
Tupolev Tu-141, which was corroborated by
Cyrillic The Cyrillic script ( ) is a writing system used for various languages across Eurasia. It is the designated national script in various Slavic, Turkic, Mongolic, Uralic, Caucasian and Iranic-speaking countries in Southeastern Europe, Ea ...
inscriptions and
red star A red star, five-pointed and filled, is a symbol that has often historically been associated with communist ideology, particularly in combination with the hammer and sickle, but is also used as a purely socialist symbol in the 21st century. ...
insignia found on the scattered debris near the crash site. There were also several parachutes hanging on the nearby trees. Throughout 12 March,
Croatian Army The Croatian Army ( or HKoV) is the land force branch of the Croatian Armed Forces. It is numerically the largest of the three branches of the Croatian Armed Forces. The HKoV is the main force for the defense of the country against external threa ...
continued the excavation of a remaining major part of the debris, which was wedged into the ground. The debris was taken to a secret location. On the same day, the head of the military police of Croatian Army Chief of Staff brigadier Vlado Kovačević said that the aircraft's
black box In science, computing, and engineering, a black box is a system which can be viewed in terms of its inputs and outputs (or transfer characteristics), without any knowledge of its internal workings. Its implementation is "opaque" (black). The te ...
was recovered and that some fragments point to the possibility that the aircraft was also carrying an
explosive device An explosive device is a device that relies on the exothermic reaction of an explosive material to provide a violent release of energy. Applications of explosive devices include: *Building implosion (demolition) * Excavation *Explosive forming ...
. In an interview on 13 March, the Croatian Minister of Defence
Mario Banožić Mario Banožić (born 10 March 1979) is a Croatian politician who served as Minister of Defence from 2020 to 2023. He previously served as Minister of State Property from 2019 until 2020. See also *Cabinet of Andrej Plenković I *Cabinet of And ...
confirmed that parts belonging to an explosive device were found in the debris of the drone. He also added that the weight of the explosive could have been up to 120 kg.
Prime Minister of Croatia The prime minister of Croatia, officially the president of the government of the Republic of Croatia (), is Croatia's head of government, and is ''de facto'' the most powerful and influential state officeholder in the Croatian system of governme ...
Andrej Plenković Andrej Plenković ( ; born 8 April 1970) is a Croatian politician serving as the Prime Minister of Croatia, prime minister of Croatia since October 2016. He was previously one of eleven List of members of the European Parliament for Croatia, 201 ...
remarked to the media on 17 March that the UAV flew to Croatia because Romanian and Hungarian radars did not identify the incoming object as a real threat, due to the fact that there were several false alarms in the days before the incident and it was thought that it was a
glitch A glitch is a short-lived technical fault, such as a transient one that corrects itself, making it difficult to troubleshoot. The term is particularly common in the computing and electronics industries, in circuit bending, as well as among pl ...
. Given the fact that neither Romanian or Hungarian radars reported the object,
NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental Transnationalism, transnational military alliance of 32 Member states of NATO, member s ...
in turn could not order the interception of the UAV. On 23 March,
Minister of the Interior An interior minister (sometimes called a minister of internal affairs or minister of home affairs) is a cabinet official position that is responsible for internal affairs, such as public security, civil registration and identification, emergency ...
Davor Božinović Davor Božinović (; born 27 December 1961) is a Croatian diplomat and politician who serves as Minister of the Interior and Deputy Prime Minister of Croatia since 2017. He previously served as Minister of Defence from 2010 to 2011. Born in Pula ...
confirmed that the UAV carried an
aerial bomb An aerial bomb is a type of Explosive weapon, explosive or Incendiary device, incendiary weapon intended to travel through the Atmosphere of Earth, air on a predictable trajectory. Engineers usually develop such bombs to be dropped from an aircra ...
. The investigation report was presented on 13 April. A detailed analysis of its metal fragments showed that the drone carried an OFAB-100-120 aerial bomb and had hit the ground because of parachute failure. However, no traces of military explosives, such as
Trinitrotoluene Troponin T (shortened TnT or TropT) is a part of the troponin complex, which are proteins integral to the contraction of skeletal and heart muscles. They are expressed in skeletal and cardiac myocytes. Troponin T binds to tropomyosin and help ...
(TNT), were found on it. The bomb was charged by unconventional organic powder. On 30 November 2022, while answering questions in parliament, defense minister Banožić revealed that
NATO member states The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) is an international military alliance consisting of 32 member states from Europe and North America. It was established at the signing of the North Atlantic Treaty on 4 April 1949. Of the 32 member c ...
whose territories were overflown by the drone had proclaimed the drone operator a state secret.


Reactions


Domestic

The slow or non-existent reaction from air defence services caused outrage among the Croatian media and public, with some comparing the incident to
Mathias Rust Mathias Rust (born 1 June 1968) is a German aviator known for his flight that ended with a landing near Red Square in Moscow on 28 May 1987. Then a teenage amateur pilot, he flew from Helsinki, Finland, to Moscow, without authorization. Accordi ...
's flight to the
Red Square Red Square ( rus, Красная площадь, Krasnaya ploshchad', p=ˈkrasnəjə ˈploɕːɪtʲ) is one of the oldest and largest town square, squares in Moscow, Russia. It is located in Moscow's historic centre, along the eastern walls of ...
in 1987.
President of Croatia The president of Croatia, officially the president of the Republic of Croatia (), is the head of state, commander-in-chief of the military and chief representative of the Republic of Croatia both within the country and abroad. The president ...
Zoran Milanović Zoran Milanović (; born 30 October 1966) is a Croatia, Croatian politician and the incumbent president of Croatia. First elected in 2020, he was re-elected in 2025 with 74% voter support. Prior to assuming the presidency, he was the prime min ...
described the crash as "a serious incident" and added that "in such situations you depend on NATO ..while there was obviously some failure there". The President said Croatia knew where the drone flew from, "evidently Ukraine to Zagreb". Prime Minister Plenković said on 12 March that " is is a real threat. NATO and the EU were supposed to react. We will not tolerate such situation ..we were very lucky. This could have fallen on a nuclear power plant in Hungary." He also announced that he had written a letter to the
Secretary General of NATO The secretary general of NATO is the chief civil servant of the NATO, North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), an intergovernmental military alliance with 32 member states. The officeholder is an international diplomat responsible for coordinat ...
Jens Stoltenberg Jens Stoltenberg (; born 16 March 1959) is a Norwegian politician from the Labour Party. Since 2025, he has been the Minister of Finance in the Støre Cabinet. He has previously been the prime minister of Norway and secretary general of NATO. ...
regarding the situation. The
Mayor of Zagreb This article contains a list of people who have served as mayor of Zagreb, the capital of Croatia, or president of the Zagreb Assembly. List See also *List of mayors in Croatia References External links Grad Zagreb - svi gradonačelnici ...
,
Tomislav Tomašević Tomislav Tomašević (; born 13 January 1982) is a Croatian politician, activist, environmentalist and political scientist who has served as the 53rd List of mayors of Zagreb, mayor of Zagreb since 2021. He is one of the leaders of the local Zagr ...
, held a press conference regarding the incident and commented that "no people were hurt during the impact, but there is some property damage". On 12 March 2022, Tomašević criticized certain unnamed foreign media sources for allegedly misrepresenting the location of the crash site. He stated: "I must admit that I am quite bothered by the information in foreign media sources, where I have read that such a large military aircraft had crashed in the suburbs of Zagreb, or that it had crashed next to Zagreb. No, it did not crash next to Zagreb, it crashed in the centre of Zagreb, in a densely populated area, and it did not crash in any type of suburban area." The Croatian online newspaper ''
Index.hr Index.hr is a Croatian Tabloid journalism, tabloid-like online newspaper, launched in December 2002 and based in Zagreb. It was founded by Matija Babić and was originally designed as a News aggregator, news aggregation website, providing news co ...
'' suggested the drone may have been meant to fly to a location in Ukraine called rather than the Zagreb neighborhood of Jarun, which sounds similar. Distinguished
Croatian Air Force The Croatian Air Force ( or HRZ) is the aerial warfare branch of the Croatian Armed Forces. It is tasked primarily with safeguarding the sovereignty of Croatian airspace and providing aviation support to other branches during joint operations. ...
pilot Ivan Selak criticized NATO's
Combined Air Operations Centre Combined Air Operations Centres (CAOCs) are multinational headquarters for tactical and operational control of NATO Air Forces below the Joint Force Command level. They operate within the NATO Integrated Air Defense System (NATINADS) framework. ...
in Torrejón,
Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...
, for not scrambling Romanian, Hungarian or Croatian Air Force jets to intercept the aircraft. On 12 March, the Croatian daily newspaper ''
Jutarnji list () is a Croatian daily newspaper based in Zagreb. It was published on 6 April 1998 by EPH (Europapress holding, owned by Ninoslav Pavić), which eventually changed its name in Hanza Media after being bought by Marijan Hanžeković. The newspap ...
'' wrote that Croatia might ask the
United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
to deploy their Patriot missile systems in the country. Croatian military expert and former defence minister deputy Nikola Brzica commented, "
Armed Forces of Croatia The Armed Forces of the Republic of Croatia () are the national Military, military forces of Croatia. The Croatian military consists of three service branches: the Croatian Army, the Croatian Navy and the Croatian Air Force. The OSRH is headed ...
have at least two systems in their inventory, which could have brought down such a simple target, yet they weren't used. ..It turns out that neither us roatians nor Hungarians, nor Romanians properly tracked that target, nor contacted others and this is a big problem for NATO's air defence".


Foreign

Ukrainian Defence Minister's adviser Markiyan Lubkivsky, in a statement to Croatian media, denied that the UAV which crashed in Zagreb belongs to Ukraine. In subsequent reaction to the writing of Russian news agency
TASS The Russian News Agency TASS, or simply TASS, is a Russian state-owned news agency founded in 1904. It is the largest Russian news agency and one of the largest news agencies worldwide. TASS is registered as a Federal State Unitary Enterpri ...
,
State Special Communications Service of Ukraine The State Special Communications Service of Ukraine (Also known as the SSSCIP, ), also known as ''Derzhspetszv'yazku'' (), is a specialized executive authority of which the key functions include the provision of secure government communications, ...
also further claimed that the UAVs in question are in possession of both
Russian Russian(s) may refer to: *Russians (), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *A citizen of Russia *Russian language, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages *''The Russians'', a b ...
and Ukrainian Armed Forces. However, according to Ukrainian officials, the Ukrainian variants of Tu-141 UAVs are marked by the Ukrainian coat of arms while Russian variants have the red star insignia. The
Russian Embassy This is a list of diplomatic missions of Russia. These missions are subordinate to the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The Russian Federation has one of the largest networks of embassies and consulates of any country. Russia has significant ...
in Zagreb also denied ownership of the crashed drone, stating that "the drone was produced on the territory of Ukraine" and that Russian Armed Forces had not used such drones since 1991. Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade
Péter Szijjártó Péter Szijjártó (; born 30 October 1978) is a Hungarian politician who has been Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Hungary), Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade since 2014. He previously served as Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade and ...
announced that the
Hungarian government The Government of Hungary () exercises executive (government), executive power in Hungary. It is led by the Prime Minister of Hungary, Prime Minister, and is composed of various ministers. It is the principal organ of public administration. The Pr ...
had joined the investigation into the UAV. The Secretary General of NATO
Jens Stoltenberg Jens Stoltenberg (; born 16 March 1959) is a Norwegian politician from the Labour Party. Since 2025, he has been the Minister of Finance in the Støre Cabinet. He has previously been the prime minister of Norway and secretary general of NATO. ...
claimed that the drone that crashed in Croatia was unarmed and the crash did not constitute an armed attack.


Aftermath

A
joint exercise A military exercise, training exercise, maneuver (manoeuvre), or war game is the employment of military resources in training for military operations. Military exercises are conducted to explore the effects of warfare or test tactics and strat ...
between the
Croatian Air Force The Croatian Air Force ( or HRZ) is the aerial warfare branch of the Croatian Armed Forces. It is tasked primarily with safeguarding the sovereignty of Croatian airspace and providing aviation support to other branches during joint operations. ...
and French pilots from the aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle was held on 15 March 2022. The exercise was conducted in the airspace over the regions of
Istria Istria ( ; Croatian language, Croatian and Slovene language, Slovene: ; Italian language, Italian and Venetian language, Venetian: ; ; Istro-Romanian language, Istro-Romanian: ; ; ) is the largest peninsula within the Adriatic Sea. Located at th ...
,
Kvarner The Kvarner Gulf (, or ; ; or ) sometimes also Kvarner Bay, is a bay in the northern Adriatic Sea, located between the Istrian peninsula and the northern Croatian Littoral mainland. The bay is a part of Croatia's internal waters. The largest i ...
,
Lika Lika () is a traditional region of Croatia proper, roughly bound by the Velebit mountain from the southwest and the Plješevica mountain from the northeast. On the north-west end Lika is bounded by Ogulin-Plaški basin, and on the south-east by t ...
, and
Kordun The Kordun () region is a part of central Croatia from the bottom of the Petrova Gora (Peter's mountain) mountain range, which extends along the rivers Korana and Slunjčica, and forms part of the border region to Bosnia and Herzegovina. Within ...
, as well as over the cities of
Rijeka Rijeka (; Fiume ( �fjuːme in Italian and in Fiuman dialect, Fiuman Venetian) is the principal seaport and the List of cities and towns in Croatia, third-largest city in Croatia. It is located in Primorje-Gorski Kotar County on Kvarner Ba ...
,
Pula Pula, also known as Pola, is the largest city in Istria County, west Croatia, and the List of cities and towns in Croatia, seventh-largest city in the country, situated at the southern tip of the Istria, Istrian peninsula in western Croatia, wi ...
,
Zadar Zadar ( , ), historically known as Zara (from Venetian and Italian, ; see also other names), is the oldest continuously inhabited city in Croatia. It is situated on the Adriatic Sea, at the northwestern part of Ravni Kotari region. Zadar ...
, and Zagreb. Later that day, Croatian president and commander-in-chief Zoran Milanović published a statement announcing that he had given an order to the
Chief of the General Staff The Chief of the General Staff (CGS) is a post in many armed forces (militaries), the head of the military staff. List * Chief of the General Staff (Abkhazia) * Chief of General Staff (Afghanistan) * Chief of the General Staff (Albania) * C ...
Admiral
Robert Hranj Robert Hranj (born 5 September 1962 in Varaždin) is a Croatian Admiral, who served as Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Croatia. He was appointed to that position on 1 March 2020 after Zoran Milanović became the new President ...
whereby overflights of military aircraft over Zagreb and the country's other cities would be "strictly forbidden". On 16 March 2022, the United States dispatched two F-16 fighter jets from Italy to a Croatian airbase in
Pleso Zagreb Franjo Tuđman Airport () or Zagreb Airport () () is an international airport serving Zagreb, Croatia. It is the busiest airport in Croatia, handling about 4.31  million passengers and some 13,025 tons of cargo in 2024. Named after ...
. On 17 March 2022, Ukrainian Minister of Defence
Oleksii Reznikov Oleksii Yuriiovych Reznikov (, ; born 18 June 1966) is a Ukrainian lawyer and politician who served as the List of Ministers of Defense (Ukraine), Minister of Defence of Ukraine from 4 November 2021 until his dismissal on 5 September 2023. ...
continued to insist that Ukrainians were "not the ones who launched that drone towards Croatia"; he also expressed incomprehension of NATO's apparent failure to prevent the incident, saying: "The drone flew over several member states. How come you didn't see it? Why didn't you destroy it? Can you cover your own airspace?". As a result of the drone crash, the Croatian government decided to urgently acquire
surface-to-air missile A surface-to-air missile (SAM), also known as a ground-to-air missile (GTAM) or surface-to-air guided weapon (SAGW), is a missile designed to be launched from the ground or the sea to destroy aircraft or other missiles. It is one type of anti-ai ...
(SAM) systems. According to Croatian media reports, French-made Mistral and VL MICA Systems were acquired by the country.


Other incidents


Suspicious flying objects over Hungary

The
Hungarian Air Force The Hungarian Air Force (, ), is the air force branch of the Hungarian Defence Forces. The primary focus of the present Hungarian Air Force lies in defensive operations. The flying units operate are organised into a single command; under the A ...
first detected and tracked the aircraft after it had passed through Romanian airspace late in the evening of March 10. The next day, the Air Force further detected another suspicious radar signal around noon. Hungarian Gripen fighters took off from
Kecskemét air base Kecskemét Air Base is a military air base located near Kecskemét, a city in Bács-Kiskun county, Hungary. The base is the venue for the Kecskemét Air Show. Facilities The air base resides at an elevation of above mean sea level. It has one ...
but found no suspicious flying object. Another incident occurred during the afternoon later that day prompting fighters to be scrambled but they likewise did not find any suspicious flying objects.


Drone crash in Romania

On 13 March, just three days after the event in Zagreb, a drone crashed in the Tărpiu village close to the
Transylvania Transylvania ( or ; ; or ; Transylvanian Saxon dialect, Transylvanian Saxon: ''Siweberjen'') is a List of historical regions of Central Europe, historical and cultural region in Central Europe, encompassing central Romania. To the east and ...
n city of
Bistrița (; , archaic , Transylvanian Saxon: , ) is the capital city of Bistrița-Năsăud County, in northern Transylvania, Romania. It is situated on the Bistrița River. The city has a population of 78,877 inhabitants as of 2021 and administers s ...
in Romania. Unlike the UAV that crashed in Croatia, this one carried no armament. It was identified as a Russian
Orlan-10 The Orlan-10 () is a reconnaissance unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) developed by the Special Technology Center (STC) in Saint Petersburg for the Russian Armed Forces. The Orlan-10 features a composite fuselage that reduces its radar signature. Dr ...
reconnaissance drone. Like Croatia, Romania is also a NATO member and as such is under its security umbrella.


See also

*
List of accidents and incidents involving military aircraft (2020–present) A list is a set of discrete items of information collected and set forth in some format for utility, entertainment, or other purposes. A list may be memorialized in any number of ways, including existing only in the mind of the list-maker, but ...
* Violations of non-combatant airspaces during the Russian invasion of Ukraine * List of UAV-related incidents *
2022 missile explosion in Poland On 15 November 2022, a missile struck Polish territory, in the village of Przewodów near the border with Ukraine, killing two people. The incident occurred during attacks on Ukrainian civilian infrastructure by Russia. It was the first in ...
* 1989 Belgium MiG-23 crash


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Zagreb Tu-141 crash, 2022 March 2022 in Croatia 2020s in Zagreb Aviation history of Croatia 2022 in aviation Events affected by the Russian invasion of Ukraine 2022 in Hungary 2022 in Romania Croatia–Russia relations Hungary–Russia relations Romania–Russia relations Romania–Ukraine relations Croatia–Ukraine relations Hungary–Ukraine relations Spillover of the Russian invasion of Ukraine