A Russian fighter jet forced down a US Air Force drone over the Black Sea on Tuesday after damaging the propeller of a MQ-9 Reaper drone, according to a US official familiar with the incident.
The Reaper drone and two SU-27 Flanker jets were operating over international waters over the Black Sea when one of the Russian jets intentionally flew in front of and dumped fuel in front of the unmanned drone, according to the official. One of the jets then damaged the propeller of the Reaper, which is mounted on the rear of the drone, the official said. The damage to the propeller forced the US to bring down the Reaper in international waters in the Black Sea.
Russian and US aircraft have operated over the Black Sea during the course of the war, but this is the first known such interaction, a potentially dangerous escalation at a critical time in the fighting.
According to a statement from the US Air Force:
"At approximately 7:03 AM (CET), one of the Russian Su-27 aircraft struck the propeller of the MQ-9, causing U.S. 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."
"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 Gen. James B. Hecker, commander of US Air Forces Europe and Air Forces Africa, according to the Air Force statement. "In fact, this unsafe and unprofessional act by the Russians nearly caused both aircraft to crash."
"U.S. and Allied aircraft will continue to operate in international airspace and we call on the Russians to conduct themselves professionally and safely," Hecker added, according to the statement.
Some context: The US has been operating Reaper drones over the Black Sea since before the beginning of the war, using the spy drone to monitor the area. The Reaper drone can fly as high as 50,000 feet, according to the Air Force, and has the sensors and capabilities to gather intel and perform reconnaissance for extended periods of time, making it an ideal platform to track movements on the battlefield and in the Black Sea.