The United States has released footage that shows the exact moment a Russian fighter jet collided with a US surveillance drone over the Black Sea on Tuesday.
The clip was released by US European Command on Thursday. Taken by the US MQ-9 Reaper drone, it shows the precise moment it collided with a Russian Su-27 fighter jet. A Pentagon spokesman had earlier raised the possibility that the department could declassify and release footage it has of the collision.
Both sides have blamed each other for the collision, providing conflicting accounts. The Pentagon has said that the aircraft dumped fuel on the drone, that was in international airspace conducting a routine surveillance mission.
Russia’s ambassador to the United States, Anatoly Antonov, said in a statement Wednesday that the drone had “deliberately and provocatively” approached Russian air space.
“Two Russian Su-27 aircraft conducted an unsafe and unprofessional intercept with a US Air Force intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance unmanned MQ-9 aircraft operating within international airspace over the Black Sea on March 14, 2023,” the US European Command said in a statement accompanying the video.
“Russian Su-27s dumped fuel upon and struck the propeller of the MQ-9, causing US forces to have to bring the MQ-9 down in international waters.”
This is a developing story and it will be updated when further information becomes available.
The United States has released footage that shows the exact moment a Russian fighter jet collided with a US surveillance drone over the Black Sea on Tuesday.
