Two NH90 helicopters from the Spanish Air and Space Force’s Paznic tactical air detachment have carried out their first live Alpha scramble in Romania, taking off from Mihail Kogălniceanu Air Base in response to unidentified drones, Spain’s Defense Staff (EMAD) said on November 6, 2026.
The drones disappeared before the helicopters needed to engage them, and both aircraft returned to base. According to EMAD, it was the first operational scramble involving a Spanish helicopter deployed on an international NATO mission.
Spanish NH90 helicopters join NATO counter-drone mission
The Paznic detachment took over NATO’s enhanced Air Policing mission in Romania on July 31, 2026. The Spanish contingent comprises seven F/A-18M Hornet fighters, one A400M tanker, three NH90 helicopters, and approximately 200 personnel, with the deployment scheduled to run until the end of November 2026.
When the rotation was announced in late July 2026, NATO said the NH90s would join during the final phase of the deployment, specifically to conduct counter-drone missions.
“They do not replace the F-18s. They complement them,” Lieutenant Colonel Alberto B. Calvo López said in the EMAD statement.
López explained that while fighters offer speed, range, powerful sensors and rapid response capabilities, helicopters provide greater flexibility against threats flying at low altitudes and speeds or behaving in less conventional ways.
Spanish fighters have already intercepted drones over Romania
EMAD said the Paznic detachment had conducted 37 Alpha scramble sorties as of November 6, 2026.
The deployment has already seen a live engagement. On August 16, a Spanish F/A-18 shot down a drone that entered Romanian airspace from the direction of Moldova.
Romania had previously shot down an intruding drone for the first time on July 24, 2026, using one of its own F-16 fighters. In a separate incident on August 20, a Romanian F-16 opened fire with its cannon on a maritime drone found drifting near a Black Sea gas platform.
The NH90 deployment is part of NATO’s broader shift from traditional air policing toward Integrated Air and Missile Defense (IAMD), combining fighter patrols, ground-based air defenses and counter-drone capabilities.