A Russian Su-27 fighter jet hit the propeller of a US Reaper reconnaissance drone on March 14, 2023, the US military said. The drone crashed into the Black Sea. The US military described the incident as risky. The picture shows the pre-flight preparation of the American MQ-9 Reaper drone during the Ample Strike international exercise on September 15, 2021 at the air base in Náměšt nad Oslavou.
Washington/Moscow – The American MQ-9 Reaper multipurpose drone crashed over the Black Sea today. According to the US military, this happened after the plane was shot down by a Russian Su-27 fighter jet in international airspace. Russia denied this, saying the drone went down as a result of careless maneuvering. Washington attributes the destruction of the American drone to dangerous actions by the Russian side, and the United States State Department summoned the Russian ambassador to the country over the incident.
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The U.S. military said two Russian fighter jets were maneuvering to intercept the drone, with one of them hitting its propeller. The Americans subsequently let their damaged drone fall. According to the U.S. military, the Russian planes already dropped fuel on the drone before the collision, apparently in an attempt to damage it or make it impossible to navigate, and flew in front of it.
The Russian Defense Ministry denied the accusation, saying its fighter jets did not come into contact with the American drone. According to Moscow, the drone went into an uncontrollable flight with a loss of height and crashed into water surfaces. The ministry also said that the incident took place near Crimea around 9:30 a.m. Moscow time (7:30 a.m. CET). This Ukrainian peninsula was annexed by Russia in 2014 in violation of international law.
The Pentagon said that the Russian fighter jet apparently also suffered damage in the collision. According to him, the Russians did not get the destroyed American drone.
The US Department of State said it was in direct contact with senior Russian officials to express its disapproval of today's incident. The incident over the Black Sea took place at a time of unprecedented tension in relations with Moscow due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
The US summoned the Russian ambassador over the incident with the American drone
The State Department of the United States has summoned Russian Ambassador Anatoly Antonov over today's incident with an American drone that crashed into the Black Sea. He said after the meeting that American planes and ships have no business near the Russian border. According to him, however, Moscow does not want a conflict with the US, Russian media reported.
The United States military said a Russian Su-27 fighter jet collided with an American MQ-9 Reaper reconnaissance drone, hitting its propeller. The drone was destroyed as a result. According to her, the incident happened because of the “dangerous and unprofessional” behavior of the Russian side. The Russian Defense Ministry says the American plane went down due to a sharp maneuver and that the Russian fighter jets were not in contact with it.
US State Department spokesman Ned Price said according to Reuters that the United States is in direct contact with high Russian officials to express their protest over this incident. According to Price, the US ambassador to Russia approached the Russian State Department with a “strong message” about the incident, and US officials informed Washington's allies and partners about it. near the borders of the Russian Federation,” Russian Ambassador to the USA Antonov said, according to the TASS agency, after being summoned to the US State Department. “As far as we are concerned, we do not want any confrontation between the US and Russia. We are in favor of building pragmatic relations for the benefit of the Russian and American people,” RIA Novosti quoted him as saying.
The United States lost a drone over the Black Sea in an unprecedented tension in relations with Moscow. Relations between the two powers are at freezing point due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
