The United States military claims that a Russian fighter plane caused one of its spy drones to crash into the Black Sea by clipping the drone’s propeller. Since Russia invaded Ukraine over a year ago, this is their first face-to-face situation.
Tuesday’s incident between a U.S. MQ-9 drone and a Russian Su-27 fighter jet was described as a “provocation” by Russia’s ambassador to the United States.
In a detailed account, the United States military claims that two Russian Su-27 jets intercepted an American spy drone in international airspace. It was reported that Russian fighter jets flew dangerously close to the MQ-9 and dumped fuel on it, possibly in an attempt to blind or damage it. About 30–40 minutes later, at 7:03 a.m. (0603 GMT), one of the jets collided with the drone, causing it to crash.
The Pentagon has said the jet was probably damaged, and Russia has yet to recover the drone.
The Russian defense ministry denied that its aircraft had made contact with the unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), which it claimed had crashed as a result of “sharp maneuvering.”
