By AARON REICH (THE JERUSALEM POST)
The bomb exploded underground due to hitting the ground, but landing on asphalt or concrete would have been disastrous. Another drone was spotted in Romania
A Soviet-era drone that crashed near Croatia’s capital city Zagreb last Thursday was not a scout drone as previously thought, with explosive traces and bomb parts found in the crater where it crashed, Croatian Defense Minister Mario Banozic said, according to Croatian media.
The six-ton drone, flying at 1,300 meters, came from Hungary and crashed seven minutes after entering Croatia’s air space, the government said last Friday. Both Hungary and Croatia are NATO members.
It is unclear where the drone itself came from or why it was flying towards Croatia or who the drone itself belonged to, such as Russia or Ukraine.
Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenković was in communication with both representatives from the European Union and NATO regarding the incident and an investigation remains ongoing.
While the drone lacked any markings and its origin, operator and purpose in Romanian airspace remain unknown, Russia is the only known operator of Orlan-10 drones, and Romanian prosecutors have now launched a criminal investigation, according to Euronews.