Romania scrambled F-16 fighter jets to shoot down a drone near a critical European gas project. This marks the second time in weeks the Romanian Air Force has destroyed a Russian drone in its airspace. Apparently the first time didn't send a clear enough message, or Russian drone operators have the memory span of a goldfish.
The drone was threatening critical gas infrastructure. Not slightly important gas infrastructure. Not moderately vital gas infrastructure. Critical European gas infrastructure. The kind that keeps the continent from freezing to death when winter arrives and everyone remembers they disbanded their nuclear programs because a teenager gave a speech.
F-16s cost roughly $30,000 per flight hour. Air-to-air missiles run another $400,000 each. Romania is now in the business of spending half a million dollars to destroy what amounts to a flying lawnmower with a GoPro strapped to it. This is the geopolitical equivalent of hiring a SWAT team to kill a wasp in your kitchen.
The best part is calling this a scramble. Scrambling implies urgency and surprise. Romania shot down a Russian drone three weeks ago in the exact same airspace. At what point does scrambling become scheduled maintenance? At what point do the pilots just keep their helmets on between sorties?
Retail traders are already pricing in a European energy crisis based on this news. They're buying natural gas futures with money they borrowed from their parents. They're convinced this is the big one. The catalyst. The moment their $47 portfolio finally crosses into triple digits. They'll lose it all by Tuesday when the drone turns out to be a weather balloon operated by a Hungarian meteorology student who got drunk and lost the controls.
Nothing says modern warfare like spending more money destroying the weapon than the weapon itself cost to build.
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