Russian Warplanes Force Down US Drone In Black Sea

The EUCOM declared in a statement that two Russian Su-27 fighter jets tracked and intercepted the American MQ-9 drone over the Black Sea and then downed it. According to the statement, one of the Russian jets collided with the propeller of the US drone around 7:30 local time; then, the US forces were forced to dump the MQ-9 into the Black Sea. Prior to the collision, another Su-27 jet sprayed fuel over the drone, which hurt the environment.

The US Army described the incident as part of perilous acts committed by Russian pilots, noting that such behaviors can end up in a miscalculation.

Lieutenant General James B Hecker, Commander of the United States’ Air Force in Europe and Africa, claimed that the drone was conducting ordinary operation, adding that the aircraft of the American forces and their allies will continue their operation in international air space. He also urged Russia to carry out its operation in a professional and safe manner.

John Kirby, Coordinator for Strategic Communications at the National Security Council in the White House, depicted the move as dangerous, unprofessional and reckless. He added that the US will keep on flights and operations in international air space over international waters, because the Black Sea does not belong to any nation, and that whatever is needed to support the US’s national security in this part of the world will be carried out.

The escalation comes out in a situation, when the US has provided Ukraine with the most financial, military and arms support from the onset of the war between Moscow and Kiev. One of these supports is the United States’ intelligence backing of the Ukrainian forces through monitoring the Russian army’s moves in the eastern areas of Europe, which created tensions between the US and Russian air forces.

After a few day, the US Department of Defense released a video of the moment, when a Russian Su-27 fighter jet collided with the US MQ-9 drone. According to the video, after the collision the propeller of the drone hurt remarkably and it can be said that it was one of the causes of the downing of the US drone.

The interesting point of the video released by Pentagon is that the Russian fighter jets did not use any air-to-air missile to destroy the US drone despite the fact that they were equipped with the missiles.