A U.S military MQ-9 surveillance drone crashed into the Black Sea on after being ‘intercepted by Russian fighter jets’, in the first such incident since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine over a year ago. The Pentagon alleged that one of the Russian Su-27 jets struck the propeller of the drone, making it inoperable, while Russia’s defence ministry blamed “sharp manoeuvring” of the unmanned drone for the crash and said that its jets did not come into contact with it.

Nato’s Supreme Allied Commander Europe, US General Christopher Cavoli, briefed allies about the incident, which was roundly condemned by the White House and the Pentagon — which warned of the risk of escalation. The State Department summoned Russia’s ambassador to protest over the incident.

Two Russian Su-27 jets carried out what the US military described as a reckless intercept of the American spy drone before one of them collided with it at 0603 GMT. Moscow says ‘sharp manoeuvring’ of the drone led to the crash and that its jets did not collide with it Several times before the collision, the Russian fighter jets dumped fuel on the MQ-9 — possibly trying to blind or damage it _ and flew in front of the unmanned drone in unsafe manoeuvres, the US military said.

“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,” General James Hecker, who oversees the US air force in the region, said in a statement. “In fact, this unsafe and unprofessional act by the Russians nearly caused both aircraft to crash.” Russia’s defence ministry said the US drone went into the water as a result of “sharp manoeuvring” by it. “The Russian fighters did not use their onboard weapons, did not come into contact with the UAV, and returned safely to their home airfield,” the ministry said.

Credit : Independent News Pakistan-INP