The explosion of the maritime drone that triggered a maximum alert in the Port of Constanța on Friday and the evacuation of the population within a one-kilometer radius should not have caught the authorities by surprise, claims Major General (ret.) Dorin Toma, former commander of the NATO Southeast Multinational Division Command.
In an interview with Digi24, he explained that naval drones used in the Black Sea warfare are programmed to self-destruct when they lose connection with the operator.
According to the retired general, most likely, the drone lost its navigational capability after the GPS signal was jammed, and the operator could no longer maintain control over it.
"I believe it was indeed a GPS signal jamming. That particular drone went adrift," explained Dorin Toma.
He specified that such systems are remotely controlled through the Starlink network, but the coverage is not permanent across the entire Black Sea surface.
"The operator lost connection with the drone. In these conditions, it has an automatic self-destruct system," stated the former NATO commander.
"Should Not Have Taken Us by Surprise"
The general argues that the self-detonation procedure is a well-known characteristic of these drones.
The reason is simple: "The reason is very clear: to prevent this technology from falling into the hands of the Russian army."
In his opinion, after identifying the drone in the port, the authorities should have considered the explosion as an imminent risk.
"The moment it went adrift and reached that area, in the Port of Constanța, we should have expected it could explode at any moment. We didn't know exactly when the self-destruct system was set," Dorin Toma affirmed.
The former military officer criticized the idea that the explosion was an unexpected event. "This is the operating procedure. We should have expected it. Not be taken by surprise," he said.
Possibility of Multiple Drones Existence
Dorin Toma stated that the scenario in which multiple drones have reached the Romanian coastline is plausible.
According to him, the Ukrainian army frequently uses drone swarms in naval missions and usually does not operate with a single aircraft. "The Ukrainian army launches drone swarms, not a single drone. Multiple drones can be launched simultaneously for the same mission," the general explained.
Why Are They Hard to Detect
One of the questions raised after the incident is how the drone managed to reach the Port of Constanța without being noticed by surveillance systems. General Toma admits that detecting such devices is challenging.
"It has a very low profile, it is at sea level, and it moves at speeds that can reach approximately 90 km/h," he explained.
However, the former NATO commander believes that there are technical solutions that could enhance the warning capability.
He mentioned the use of aerial platforms, acoustic sensors mounted on windows, and infrared thermal systems capable of identifying the heat emitted by the drone's engine.
"There are acoustic sensors, thermal sensors, and aerial surveillance that can contribute to detecting such drones before they reach critical infrastructure," stated Dorin Toma.
A powerful explosion occurred on Friday morning at 10:28 in the Port of Constanța, where thousands of people work every day.
The explosion, heard and seen by locals, happened after a maritime drone was found in the Dana 78 area four hours earlier (around 6 am), prompting authorities to be alerted.
The Ministry of National Defense officially announces that the drone self-detonated. Fortunately, no casualties were reported.
An emergency alert (Ro-Alert) was issued for the population in the area only at 11:22, nearly an hour after the explosion.
Head of the Department for Emergency Situations, Raed Arafat, explained that when authorities realized the drone could explode, the area was evacuated. The Ro-Alert message was sent because there may be other dangerous drones in the water, which intervention teams are currently searching for from helicopters.