Russian fighter jet crashes into US Reaper drone over Black Sea

A Russian fighter jet collided with a US Reaper drone over the Black Sea, causing the unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) to crash, the US military confirmed today.

The US military said one of two Russian warplanes clipped the drone’s propeller, forcing the US to shoot it down in the area of ​​intense NATO military activity close to Ukraine’s war front lines amid the ongoing invasion of Russia in the country.

“Our MQ-9 aircraft was conducting routine operations in international airspace when it was intercepted and hit by a Russian aircraft, resulting in a crash and complete loss of the MQ-9,” said U.S. Air Force General James Hecker, which oversees the United States Air Force. Strength in the region, it said in a statement.

“In fact, this unsafe and unprofessional act by the Russians almost caused both planes to crash,” he added, saying the incident “follows a pattern of dangerous actions by Russian pilots…over international airspace.”

A Western source previously said an investigation was underway to determine whether the drone had been shot down.

It soon became apparent that at 07:03 CET (6:03 GMT) there had been a collision between a US-made MQ-9 Reaper and a Russian Su-27 fighter jet.

It was not immediately clear why the drone was operating in the region.

Politico’s Pentagon reporter Lara Seligman quoted the United States’ European command as saying that the Su-27s had dumped fuel and were flying in front of the drone.

“This incident demonstrates a lack of competence,” the quote read.

Analysts suggested that the Russians may have tried to shoot down the much smaller plane in such a way that they could recover the data.

More to follow…