World
Russian jets dumped fuel in front of US drone before crash which could lead to ‘unintended escalation’
A Russian aircraft has collided with a US unmanned aircraft in international airspace over the Black Sea, causing the latter to crash.
Two Su-27 planes had attempted to intercept the US drone – named MQ-9 – by dumping fuel in front of it several times before the collision.
This was an attempt to damage the aircraft.
At approximately 7.03am CET (6.03am GMT) one of the Russian aircraft struck the propeller of the MQ-9 drone, causing US forces to bring the unmanned aircraft down.
A statement from US European command described the Russian manoeuvres as reckless, unprofessional and environmentally unsound.
The drone was on a routine flight in accordance with international laws to bolster collective European defence and security, it said.
MQ-9 Reaper drone. AP file pic
This is the latest in a series of dangerous Russian piloting, the statement said, which could lead to “unintended escalation”.
US Air Force General James Hecker described the incident as an “unsafe and unprofessional act by the Russians” which has led to the complete loss of an MQ-9.
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White House spokesman John Kirby added that while there have been other intercepts, this one is particularly noteworthy because it was “unsafe and unprofessional”.
He said that it was a “unique” in the fact that it led to the drowning of a US aircraft.
The US will continue to fly and operate over the Black Sea, according to Mr Kirby, who said that they do not need to check with the Russians when they do, as it is over international waters.
Unintended escalation in airspace close to Ukraine
The downing of a US drone after an “unsafe and unprofessional” intercept by Russian jets over the Black Sea underlines the risk of unintended escalation in the increasingly crowded airspace close to Ukraine.
Key will be how the United States chooses to respond to what seems to have been an accidental rather than deliberate crash.
Yet the US military said the Russian Su-27 fighter planes dumped fuel on the MQ-9 Reaper drone “several times” and flew in front of it “in a reckless, environmentally-unsound and unprofessional manner”.
One of the jets then collided with the drone’s propeller, forcing the unmanned aircraft to crash into the sea.
Last year, UK Defence Secretary Ben Wallace revealed that a missile was released from a Russian aircraft near an unarmed RAF plane on a routine patrol over the Black Sea.
He described the incident on 29 September as a “potentially dangerous engagement” but said it was not deemed a “deliberate escalation”.
There has been no immediate reaction from Moscow, which has repeatedly voiced concern about US intelligence flights close to the Crimean Peninsula, which Russia illegally annexed from Ukraine in 2014.