The United States has shared a video of the moment in which a Russian army fighter collided with the propeller of a United States drone last Tuesday, an incident that occurred in international waters of the Black Sea. The US Air Force have declassified the images of the impact that forced the device to fall into the water.
According to the Pentagon's version, the MQ-9 Reaper drone was on a routine mission when two Russian SU-27 planes tried to intercept it. One of the aircraft, which was flying very close, repeatedly released fuel (as can be seen in the video). On the second approach of the Russian fighter, the Reaper's propeller collided with the plane, forcing it to be withdrawn from service.
The US military accused the Russian pilots of acting "in an environmentally damaging and unprofessional reckless manner."
For its part, the Russian Defense Ministry denied any contact between its Su-27 fighters and the drone that the United States had to shoot down in the Black Sea. He argued that it was sunk by its operator on the ground after a mistaken maneuver.
"As a result of a sudden maneuver at around 09:30 Moscow time, the MQ-9 unmanned aircraft entered into an uncontrolled flight with loss of altitude and collided with the surface of the water," the Russian military statement said.
