U.S. officials have confirmed a Russian fighter jet has intercepted an American MQ-9 Reaper drone after colliding over the Black Sea.
According to reports, the Russian jet involved was one of two Su-27's flying in tandem when the collision occurred in international airspace over international waters.
A U.S. defense official confirmed to Fox News, that the propeller to the un-manned drone was damaged and the drone landed in the Black Sea, west of Crimea. The Russian Su-27 landed there after the collision.
President Biden was briefed Tuesday morning on the incident according to The Hill, White House national security spokesperson John Kirby told reporters, calling it “unprofessional” and “unsafe.”
“It is not uncommon for there to be intercepts by Russian aircraft of U.S. aircraft over the Black Sea,” Kirby said. “And there have been, even in just recent weeks, there have been other intercepts. But this one obviously is noteworthy because of how unsafe and unprofessional it was … in causing the downing of one of our aircraft.”
U.S. European Command and U.S. Air Forces Europe issued a statement on the incident in which they reported the events leading up to the collision and admonished the Russian military for “a pattern of dangerous actions” in international airspace.
The statement reads, “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.”
“This incident follows a pattern of dangerous actions by Russian pilots while interacting with U.S. and Allied aircraft over international airspace, including over the Black Sea. These aggressive actions by Russian aircrew are dangerous and could lead to miscalculation and unintended escalation,” the statement warned.
“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 Gen. James B. Hecker, Commander, USAFE-AF. “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 continued.
This is a breaking news story. Click refresh for the latest updates.
READ NEXT: Biden's New Proposal Further Reveals Washington's Insatiable Appetite
Duh-Uh! Of course it was attacked, and Russia was justified in taking it down. I’ve little doubt the Drone was spying, and any information it obtained, would be handed directly to the Ukrainians.
This War was preventable and avoidable, and the responsibility for provoking the 5War, are solely Biden and NATO’s. They just had to keep dangling the carrot of NATO membership to a corrupt country that doesn’t meet the membership requirements to join NATO, as Ukraine doesn’t have a functioning Democracy.
You’re mixing two things, the war, and an attack in international airspace. Russia violates our airspace over Alaska. They do those things constantly, at sea, and in the air. Do we automatically shoot them down? No. You can speculate about the drone’s activity, but you don’t know. The attack requires a response that our military will avoid and downplay. Russia shares coastline with a half dozen other countries, and does not own the Black Sea
Let’s hope the Pentagon had the foresight to have the drone and its mechanisms self-destrucvt when tampered with by the enemy. NO? Awww. Well, maybe it showed them a block of instruction on drag queen training films.
This reporter has it completely wrong. A U.S. drone crashed into a Russian fighter and that caused the Russian jet to crash into the sea. U.S. media = eyeroll