Washington DC, EU.- The US Army published this Thursday images of the interception of its drone by the Russian Army over the Black Sea, in which it is seen how a fighter sprays fuel on the aircraft in a clearly aggressive maneuver.
The footage, posted on the US European Command website, lasts about 40 seconds and shows a Russian Sukhoi 27 passing directly over the drone twice, after approaching it from behind.
The first time there is no impact between the two aircraft, nor are there any indications that the drone fell. The maneuver “interrupted the video transmission”, details the website, indicating, however, that it can be seen that the drone’s propeller “is intact”.
During a second turn – without being able to establish whether it is the same fighter aircraft or another – the maneuver is similar but this time the aircraft passes even closer to the drone.
The image transmission is interrupted again. When it resumes, “you can see that one of the propeller blades is damaged,” says the US Air Force.
On Tuesday, General James Hecker, commander of the US Air Force in Europe, stated that an MQ-9 Reaper conducting “routine operations in international airspace” had been intercepted by Su-27 fighters and then “hit by an aircraft Russian, which caused the fall and loss” of the drone.
While acknowledging that two jets had intercepted the drone, Russia claimed not to be responsible for its crash.
It is the first time since the start of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022, that a NATO country has admitted to losing equipment it operated with in the volatile region.
Moscow emphasizes wanting to recover the drone to demonstrate the involvement of the United States in the operations in Ukraine. On Wednesday, the Russian Defense Minister, Sergei Shoigu, specified that one of the causes of the incident was the “reinforcement” of US espionage operations.
US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin declared that the United States will continue to fly “wherever international law allows.”