BREAKING: Russian Aircraft Collides with U.S. Drone in Black Sea, Confirms Air Force
As if tension between the United States and Russia couldn't get any higher, today an incident in the Black Sea elevated the pressure between the two military powers.
According to a statement by the US European Command, a US MQ-9 Reaper drone was forced down into the Black Sea after a collision with a Russian fighter jet. The incident occurred on Tuesday morning at 7:03 a.m. (0603 GMT), when two Russian Su-27 fighters intercepted the drone over international waters west of Crimea. US forces have labeled the Russian pilots' behavior as "unsafe and unprofessional," as they attempted to disrupt the US aircraft before the collision.
One of the Russian fighters reportedly struck the American drone’s propeller “causing US forces to have to bring the MQ-9 down in international waters”.
“Our MQ-9 aircraft was conducting routine operations in int'l airspace when it was intercepted & hit by a Russian aircraft, resulting in a crash & complete loss of the MQ-9," explained Cmdr Gen. James Hecker.
The incident took place in international airspace over international waters. Several times before the collision, the Russian fighter jets reportedly dumped fuel onto the drone and flew incredibly close to it, partaking in unsafe maneuvers, according to the US military.
“Several times before the collision, the Su-27s dumped fuel on and flew in front of the MQ-9 in a reckless, environmentally unsound and unprofessional manner,” the US statement said. “This incident demonstrates a lack of competence in addition to being unsafe and unprofessional.”
The Black Sea is situated amidst the continents of Europe and Asia and is surrounded by a multitude of nations, including Russia and Ukraine. Thus far there has been no comment out of Moscow.
