The U.S. European Command on Thursday released unclassified video taken by the U.S. Air Force’s YamQ-9 Reaper drone that shows a Russian Su-27 fighter jet dropping fuel on a U.S. drone in international airspace.
The video was released two days after the Pentagon said a Russian Su-27 fighter jet forced the propeller of an MQ-9 Reaper drone operating in international airspace into the water. Meanwhile, Russia has said its jets did not make contact with the drone.
Due to this incident in Black Sea and the ongoing war in Ukraine, the tension between Russia and America has increased.
The US military’s unclassified 42-second color footage shows a Russian Su-27 jet coming up behind a US MQ-9 Reaper drone and dropping fuel as it passes. The purpose of the fuel dump was to remove the drone’s optical equipment from the area, the Pentagon said.
A portion of the video released by the Pentagon does not show the fuel spill before or after the collision between the two, and does not show the Russian fighter jet striking the drone.
“Two Russian Su-27 aircraft conducted an unsafe and unprofessional intercept with a U.S. Air Force intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance unmanned MQ-9 aircraft operating within international airspace over the Black Sea on March 14, 2023,the Pentagon said. “Russian Su-27s dumped fuel upon and struck the propeller of the MQ-9, causing U.S. forces to have to bring the MQ-9 down in international waters,” the Pentagon said
Russia, on the other hand, has claimed that its fighters did not shoot down the drone and claimed that the unmanned drone was driven down at high speed.
