A Russian fighter aircraft on Tuesday dropped gasoline on a US drone over the Black Sea and then crashed with it, forcing the drone to collapse, the US military claimed, condemning the operation as ‘reckless’.
The unmanned MQ-9 Reaper was stopped by two Russian Su-27 aircraft over international seas, one of which cut its propeller, according to the US European Command.
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Officials from the US and Russia gave different stories of how the MQ-9 Reaper drone and the Russian Su-27 fighter plane collided, each laying blame on the other. But, a spokeswoman for the Pentagon said that the Defense Department could ultimately decide to declassify and share footage it possesses of the incident.
Two Russian Su-27 aircraft allegedly poured gasoline on the MQ-9 while it was doing a normal surveillance mission over the Black Sea in international airspace, according to the Pentagon and US European Command.
They said that after flying repeatedly over and in front of the drone for 30 to 40 minutes, a Russian fighter “hit the MQ-9’s propeller, forcing American troops to put the MQ-9 down in international seas.”
The Russian ambassador had been called in for a protest, according to the US State Department.
According to John Kirby, a spokesperson for the White House’s National Security Council, the United States would “raise our concerns about this dangerous and unprofessional intercept.”
The MQ-9 unmanned aerial aircraft underwent an uncontrolled flight, lost altitude, and impacted with the water’s surface, according to Russia, which has disputed responsibility for the disaster.
According to the Russian Defense Ministry, none of the two Russian planes made contact with the American aircraft, nor did they fire a shot.
Russian intercepts over the Black Sea are regular, but this one “is significant because of how risky and unprofessional it was, in fact irresponsible that it was,” Kirby told media in Washington.
The US has long operated over the Black Sea keeping an eye on Russian naval troops and deploys MQ-9 Reapers for both surveillance and attacks.
According to the US Air Force, the MQ-9 Reaper drones have a range of more than 1,100 miles (1,770 kilometers) and a ceiling of up to 15,000 meters (50,000 feet). They may also be equipped with laser-guided explosives.