A Russian fighter jet has downed a US Air Force MQ-9 Reaper drone over the Black Sea on Tuesday after damaging the propeller of the unmanned aircraft, the US European Command said in a statement.
“At approximately 7:03 AM (CET), one of the Russian Su-27 aircraft struck the propeller of the MQ-9, causing US forces to have to bring the MQ-9 down in international waters. 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. This incident demonstrates a lack of competence in addition to being unsafe and unprofessional,” the statement said.
"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 US Air Force General James Hecker, commander, US Air Forces Europe and Air Forces Africa. “In fact, this unsafe and unprofessional act by the Russians nearly caused both aircraft to crash.”
The US Air Force accused the Russian aircraft of acting in a “reckless, environmentally unsound and unprofessional manner.”
“This incident follows a pattern of dangerous actions by Russian pilots while interacting with US and Allied aircraft over international airspace, including over the Black Sea. These aggressive actions by Russian aircrew are dangerous and could lead to miscalculation and unintended escalation,” the statement said.
A top military commander from the North Atlantic Alliance has informed Western allies about the reported incident over the Black Sea.
General Christopher Cavoli has briefed all 30 member states on the situation, in which a MQ-9 Reaper drone crashed in international waters.
Russian and US aircraft have operated over the Black Sea during the course of the war, but this is the first known such incident in international airspace.