On several occasions before the collision, Russian fighters dumped fuel on the MQ-9 -possibly in an attempt to blind or damage it- and flew in front of the drone in unsafe maneuvers, the U.S. According to a map released by the US Air Force the collision and subsequent crash took place in the Black Sea to the southwest of Crimea. The incident happened at about 7:03 am local time. Then one of the planes damaged the drone's propeller, forcing it to ditch in the Black Sea. United States European Command said that the US MQ-9 Reaper drone was flying over international waters in the Black Sea in the presence of two Russian aircraft when one of the aircraft flew in front of the drone and dumped fuel on top of it. Incident Camera footage from the drone during the incident Īccording to the Swedish flight tracking service Flightradar24 the MQ-9 Reaper is generally flown without an active ADS-B transponder. The US Defense Department's spokesman, Brigadier General Pat Ryder, remarked that intercepts of aircraft are not uncommon and that the Russian aircraft were likely conducting a routine check of the situation. This event occurred amidst heightened tensions between Russia and the United States, with the Biden administration imposing sanctions and working to isolate Russia in response to the Russo-Ukrainian War. The drone was scheduled to conduct a routine reconnaissance mission over the Black Sea when it was intercepted by two Russian fighter jets. On the early morning of 14 March 2023, an MQ-9 Reaper drone belonging to the United States Air Force departed from a base in Romania, likely the Romanian Air Force 71st Air Base located in Câmpia Turzii.
The Russian Defense Ministry said no aircraft touched and no weapons were used, however it rewarded pilots with medals for "preventing" an American drone from "violating Russia's temporary airspace". The US Air Force called this "reckless, environmentally unsound and unprofessional". This became the first direct contact between the Russian and United States Air Forces since the Cold War. On the morning of 14 March 2023, a Russian Su-27 fighter jet intercepted and damaged an American MQ-9 Reaper drone, causing it to crash into the Black Sea. Bryansk Oblast military aircraft crashes.Strikes against Ukrainian infrastructure.
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