Black Sea incident: US releases video of drone crash

The US military has released footage of an unmanned military drone that crashed in the Black Sea. It should show a Russian fighter jet. However, the clash could not be seen on video.

The US Department of Defense has released footage it says shows an incident between a Russian warplane and a US surveillance drone in international airspace over the Black Sea.

Apparently, the camera failed for a while

It shows how a Russian fighter jet jettisons fuel as it approaches an American drone, then flies too close. On the second approach, the Russian Su-27 jet refueled and then collided with an MQ-9 “Reaper” drone, according to the US Command Center for Europe.

However, the clash could not be seen on video. According to US reports, the camera was down for a minute. A partially damaged propeller of the drone can be seen in the video.

Russia denies any responsibility

According to US reports, the drone collided with a Russian fighter jet in international airspace over the Black Sea last Tuesday. The US military said two Russian fighter jets had launched an interception maneuver. A fighter jet damaged the propeller of an American drone. According to Washington, the video confirmed that a Russian warplane hit the drone, rendering it unmanageable and requiring the US military to shoot it down.

Moscow denied any responsibility for the crash and accused the Americans of provocation. “The Russian warplanes did not use weapons on board, did not communicate with the UAV and returned safely to their home airfield,” the Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement carried by the state-run TASS agency.

Air Force jets took off to identify the intruder in the Black Sea. The on-board radio was switched off and the drone was heading towards the Russian border. During a sharp evasive maneuver, she quickly lost altitude and fell, according to the Russian account.

The incident and subsequent dispute raised concerns about an escalation between Washington and Moscow.