DodoFinance Breaking News Made For You!
According to a Pentagon statement, the drone was flying “on a routine mission” in international airspace over the Black Sea when it was intercepted by two Russian Su-27 fighter jets. One of these fighter planes reportedly hit a propeller of the drone with its wing.
The US Air Force said the collision was the result of “unprofessional behavior on the part of the Russians”. Before the collision, the Su-27 fighter jets dumped fuel on the drone several times, according to the Pentagon, which speaks of a “reckless, climate-unfriendly and unprofessional action”.
A White House spokesperson says such interceptions are more common, but a drone crash is “unique”. President Biden has been briefed on the incident. The US State Department has contacted Moscow about this.
Diagram of dangerous actions
Russia denies the accusation. According to a statement from the Russian Ministry of Defense, there was no collision at all, but the drone abruptly headed towards the sea to crash. Moscow also accuses America of having flown the drone towards the Russian border, near Crimea, the Ukrainian peninsula annexed by Russia in February 2014.
Russian Ambassador Anatoly Antonov, who has been called to account by the US government, said Russia views the incident as a provocation but also that the country is not seeking a confrontation with the United States.
According to the US military, there is “a pattern of dangerous actions by Russian pilots when interacting with US and allied aircraft in international airspace”. These “may lead to miscalculations and unintended escalation”.
“No other clashes”
NATO diplomats in Brussels confirmed the incident, but said it should not lead to further confrontations. The alliance’s senior military commander has briefed NATO member states.
A Pentagon spokesperson did not say whether the Department of Defense will attempt to recover the drone, but noted that Russia has not done so in any way. The United States itself has no warships in the Black Sea.
The MQ-9 Reaper drone is a 20-meter long unmanned aerial vehicle and is intended for high-altitude surveillance. America says it will continue to perform such routine airspace missions.
