Over the Black Sea, a Russian fighter jet collided with a US Reaper drone. The plane clipped the drone's propeller, forcing it to crash, according to the US military. The incident occurred in an area of intense Nato military activity, close to the frontlines of the Ukraine war, as Russia continues to bombard the eastern European 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 US Air Force General James Hecker, who oversees the US Air Force in the region. "In fact, the Russians' unsafe and unprofessional behavior nearly caused both aircraft to crash," Hecker said. He went on to say that the incident was part of a "pattern of dangerous actions by Russian pilots" in international airspace.
An investigation was launched earlier on Tuesday to determine whether the drone was intentionally shot down. It was quickly determined that a collision occurred at 7:03am CET between a US-made MQ-9 Reaper and a Russian Su-27 fighter jet (6:03am GMT). The incident occurs amid rising Russian-US tensions over Moscow's involvement in the Ukraine conflict.
By Covenantblog
