On March 14, a Russian Su-27 fighter jet crashed into the propeller of an American MQ-9 drone, causing the US air force to sink its drone in the neutral waters of the Black Sea. This is reported by the European Command of the US Armed Forces. A Russian Su-27 was also nearly lost, General James Hecker, commander of the US Air Force in Europe and Africa, said.
According to an official press release from the US European Command, "two Russian Su-27 aircraft carried out an unsafe and unprofessional interception of a US Air Force MQ-9 unmanned aircraft."
“Today, over the Black Sea in international airspace, two Russian Su-27 aircraft made an unsafe and unprofessional interception of a US Air Force MQ-9 unmanned aerial vehicle that was carrying out reconnaissance, surveillance and reconnaissance. At approximately 07:03 am CET, one of the Russian Su-27s grazed the propeller of an MQ-9, causing US forces to sink the MQ-9s in international waters. On several occasions before the collision, the Su-27s dumped fuel and flew in front of the MQ-9s in a reckless, environmentally unsound and unprofessional manner. This incident demonstrates a lack of competence in addition to being unsafe and unprofessional.
“Our MQ-9 aircraft was performing normal operations in international airspace when it was intercepted and shot down by a Russian aircraft, which led to the crash and total loss of the MQ-9. In fact, this unsafe and unprofessional act by the Russians almost caused both aircraft to crash. US and allied aircraft will continue to operate in international airspace and we urge the Russians to conduct themselves professionally and safely,” Gen. James Hecker said.
The incident is consistent with Russian pilots' methods of dangerous interaction with US and allied aircraft in international airspace, including over the Black Sea. These aggressive actions by Russian crews are dangerous and could lead to miscalculations and unintended escalations.”
This is not the first such incident over the Black Sea. British Defense Secretary Ben Wallace said that at the end of September 2022, a Russian Su-27 fighter fired a missile near a British RC-135W Rivet Joint reconnaissance aircraft patrolling in international airspace over the Black Sea. The Russian side reported a technical malfunction of its fighter, saying that the missile was fired by mistake.