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Russian Fighter Jet Hits American Drone Over Black Sea: US

The incident, which heightened Russia-US tensions over Moscow's war in Ukraine, appeared to be the first time since the Cold War's height that a US aircraft was shot down after colliding with a Russian warplane

A Russian fighter jet struck the propeller of a US surveillance drone over the Black Sea on Tuesday, causing American forces to bring the unmanned aerial vehicle down, according to the US.

However, Russia insisted that its warplanes did not strike the MQ-9 Reaper drone. Instead, it claimed the drone manoeuvred sharply and crashed into the water after colliding with Russian fighter jets scrambled to intercept it near Crimea.

The incident, which heightened Russia-US tensions over Moscow's war in Ukraine, appeared to be the first time since the Cold War's height that a US aircraft was shot down after colliding with a Russian warplane.

According to White House national security spokesman John Kirby, US President Joe Biden was briefed on the incident by national security adviser Jake Sullivan. He went on to say that US State Department officials would speak directly with their Russian counterparts, “expressing our concerns about this unsafe and unprofessional intercept.”

Ned Price, a State Department spokesman, called it a “blatant violation of international law.” He said that the US summoned the Russian ambassador to lodge a protest and that Lynne Tracy, the US ambassador to Russia, has made similar representations in Moscow.

According to the US European Command, two Russian Su-27 fighter jets intercepted the drone while it was flying in international airspace. According to the report, one of the Russian fighters hit the MQ-9's propeller, causing US forces to bring it down in international waters.

Prior to that, the Su-27s dumped fuel on the MQ-9 and flew in front of it several times in “a reckless, environmentally unsound and unprofessional manner,” according to a statement from the US European Command in Stuttgart, Germany. “This incident demonstrates a lack of competence in addition to being unsafe and unprofessional,” the statement continued.

The 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,” according to US Air Force Gen James B. Hecker, commander of US Air Forces Europe and Air Forces Africa. He went on to say that “in fact, the Russians' unsafe and unprofessional act nearly caused both aircraft to crash.”

Air Force Brig Gen Pat Ryder, a Pentagon spokesman, said the incident happened at 7.03 a.m. Central European over international waters, well clear of Ukraine after the Russian jets had flown in the vicinity of the drone for 30 to 40 minutes. Ryder added that there did not appear to be any communication between the aircraft prior to the collision.


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