US Military releases video showing Russian jet colliding with MQ-9 Reaper drone
The US Military released a video of a Russian jet collision with a U.S. drone!
A Russian Su-27 fighter collided with a US drone, causing the unmanned US aircraft to crash into the Black Sea, on Tuesday.
The U.S. military released footage showing a Russian fighter jet intercepting and then colliding with the American MQ-9 “Reaper” drone that crashed into the Black Sea.
The dramatic footage declassified on Thursday seemingly shows the Russian jet emitting a plume of fuel over the drone, causing its camera systems to cut off.
BREAKING: U.S. military releases dramatic declassified video taken by MQ-9 Reaper drone that shows the moment that a Russian Su-27 fighter jet collided with it after attempting to spray the drone with jet fuel. https://t.co/XGoVQN7ppJ pic.twitter.com/X9vH6qtFGf
— ABC News (@ABC) March 16, 2023
“The Russian jet dumped fuel upon and struck the propeller of the MQ-9, causing U.S. forces to have to bring the MQ-9 down in international waters,” the US Air Force said in a statement released along the video.
“The video released by the U.S. military’s European Command was “edited for length, however, the events are depicted in sequential order,” the statement said.
This latest confrontation has sparked a new diplomatic spat and led to a race to recover some highly classified technology.
On the other hand, the U.S. has accused Russia of operating its warplane in an “unsafe and unprofessional” manner during the encounter near Ukraine’s Russian-occupied Crimean Peninsula.
A statement from US European Command said, “The drone – a US-made MQ-9 Reaper – and two Russian Su-27 aircraft were flying over international waters over the Black Sea on Tuesday when one of the Russian jets intentionally flew in front of and dumped fuel on the unmanned aerial vehicle several times.”
The aircraft then hit the propeller of the drone, prompting the drone’s remote operators to bring the MQ-9 drone down in international waters, the statement added.
Pentagon spokesman Brig. Gen. Patrick Ryder added Tuesday that the Russian aircraft flew “in the vicinity” of the drone for 30 to 40 minutes before colliding just after 7 a.m. Central European Time.
Meanwhile, Russia insisted its warplanes didn’t hit the MQ-9 Reaper drone.
The Russian defence ministry said in a statement Tuesday, “A Russian fighter aircraft “did not use airborne weapons or come into contact” with a US Air Force MQ-9 Reaper drone over the Black Sea.”
It was reported on Wednesday, that a senior Russian official said that Moscow would try to recover the wreckage of the drone.
