Moment Russian Fighter Crashes Into US Drone In International Airspace Over The Black Sea
- last year
Watch Russian fighter plane crash into US Reaper drone, clip its propeller and dump fuel over it while it flew in international airspace over the Black Sea in incredible footage released by the US military
Drone camera footage released by the Pentagon today captures the moment a Russian fighter clipped its propeller and dumped fuel over it in international airspace on 14 March 2023.
US forces had to bring the $32mn drone down in international waters on Tuesday night after the fighter poured fuel on the unmanned aerial vehicle and then struck its propeller, sparking a race between Moscow and Washington to recover it.
The new footage follows Russian claims its jet did not make contact with the drone, instead blaming 'sharp maneuvering' for the crash.
This is the first direct confrontation between Russia and the US since the start of the war in Ukraine, occurring close to Crimea.
White House national security spokesman John Kirby previously confirmed the US was reviewing 'imagery' collected from the region.
He also said the UAV may never be recovered from the crash site, admitting that the Reaper wreckage is still in the Black Sea.
Kirby said that US officials told Moscow to be more careful when flying in international air space around American assets.
Russia's Ambassador to the US, Anatoly Antonov, meanwhile accused the US of committing an 'act of provocation' after the $32 million US surveillance drone was intercepted by two Su-27 fighter jets in international airspace.
Antonov warned Washington it must stop 'hostile' flights near his country's border - or face the consequences.
Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin said he spoke to his Russian counterpart on Wednesday in their first call since October.
'I just got off the phone with my Russian counterpart, Minister Shoigu,' Austin said at a Pentagon press briefing.
'As I've said repeatedly, it's important that great powers be models of transparency and communication, and the United States will continue to fly and to operate wherever international law allows.'
Russia said it made clear in the call that it sees things differently and that U.S. aerial operations in the region are a threat.
'It was noted that flights by American strategic lethal drones by the Crimea coastline were provocative in nature and created pre-conditions for an escalation of the situation in the Black Sea zone,' the defense ministry statement said after Shoigu's telephone conversation with Austin.
Earlier the Kremlin said it would try to retrieve the remains of the drone.
Drone camera footage released by the Pentagon today captures the moment a Russian fighter clipped its propeller and dumped fuel over it in international airspace on 14 March 2023.
US forces had to bring the $32mn drone down in international waters on Tuesday night after the fighter poured fuel on the unmanned aerial vehicle and then struck its propeller, sparking a race between Moscow and Washington to recover it.
The new footage follows Russian claims its jet did not make contact with the drone, instead blaming 'sharp maneuvering' for the crash.
This is the first direct confrontation between Russia and the US since the start of the war in Ukraine, occurring close to Crimea.
White House national security spokesman John Kirby previously confirmed the US was reviewing 'imagery' collected from the region.
He also said the UAV may never be recovered from the crash site, admitting that the Reaper wreckage is still in the Black Sea.
Kirby said that US officials told Moscow to be more careful when flying in international air space around American assets.
Russia's Ambassador to the US, Anatoly Antonov, meanwhile accused the US of committing an 'act of provocation' after the $32 million US surveillance drone was intercepted by two Su-27 fighter jets in international airspace.
Antonov warned Washington it must stop 'hostile' flights near his country's border - or face the consequences.
Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin said he spoke to his Russian counterpart on Wednesday in their first call since October.
'I just got off the phone with my Russian counterpart, Minister Shoigu,' Austin said at a Pentagon press briefing.
'As I've said repeatedly, it's important that great powers be models of transparency and communication, and the United States will continue to fly and to operate wherever international law allows.'
Russia said it made clear in the call that it sees things differently and that U.S. aerial operations in the region are a threat.
'It was noted that flights by American strategic lethal drones by the Crimea coastline were provocative in nature and created pre-conditions for an escalation of the situation in the Black Sea zone,' the defense ministry statement said after Shoigu's telephone conversation with Austin.
Earlier the Kremlin said it would try to retrieve the remains of the drone.