US Surveillance Drone Attacked by Russian Jet

The American military reported that the US Air Force unmanned drone crashed after the collision. However, the Russian defence ministry has offered a different account and the Moscow ambassador to Washington has called it a US MQ-9 drone and Russian Su-27 fighter jet provocation. On Tuesday, the US military reported that two Russian Su-27 jets carried out a ‘reckless intercept’ of an American spy drone while flying in international airspace. The Russian fighter jets allegedly flew in front of the drone in unsafe manoeuvres and dumped fuel on it, possibly trying to blind or damage it. After around 30 to 40 minutes, at 7.03 am (0603 GMT), one of the jets collided with the drone, causing it to crash. The US military warned that such aggressive actions by Russian pilots could lead to unintended escalation and reported that this incident followed a pattern of dangerous actions by Russian pilots operating near aircraft flown by the US and its allies. The MQ-9 Reaper drones are large unmanned aircraft designed for high-altitude surveillance. US Air Force General James Hecker confirmed that the MQ-9 drone 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 drone.