NATO allies conducted air and missile defense exercises in Romania, about a week after a stray missile fell in Poland, revealing gaps in the alliance's air shield, Reuters reported.

A French air defense system deployed in Romania repelled a simulated attack by allied fighter jets, the NATO Air Command in Ramstein in western Germany said.

The exercise involved Turkish F-16 fighters, Spanish Eurofighter fighters, U.S. missile carriers designed for electronic warfare, and French Rafale fighters flying from the aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle.

"In response to Russia's war against Ukraine, we continue strengthening our deterrence and defences in the eastern part of the alliance," NATO spokesperson Oana Lungescu said.

She said the alliance had added more fighter jets and surveillance aircraft on patrol, along with more ground-based air defences and air-defence-capable ships at sea. "Exercises such as this one ensure that NATO forces are able to operate together and remain ready to respond to any threat from any direction," she noted.

Since May, France has moved its SAMP/T air defense system to Romania. It is designed to protect battlefields and important targets such as airports and harbors from cruise missiles, aircraft, drones and tactical ballistic missiles.

Several other allies have also moved such weapons to NATO's eastern flank: German Patriot firing units are deployed in Slovakia, the United States uses Patriot in Poland, and Spain has sent NASAMS systems to Latvia.

However, the fall of a Ukrainian air defense missile in Poland last week shed light on the need for NATO to patch up new gaps in its air shield.