A Russian aircraft collided with an unmanned U.S. system over the Black Sea on Tuesday.
Two Russian Su-27 aircraft dumped fuel on and in front of a U.S. Air Force MQ-9 unmanned aircraft “several times” before one of them struck its propeller, causing U.S. forces to bring it down in international waters, according to a statement from U.S. European Command. Pentagon spokesman Brig. Gen. Patrick Ryder said the Russian aircraft “essentially ran into the MQ-9.”
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“Our MQ-9 aircraft was conducting routine operations in international airspace when it was intercepted and hit by a Russian aircraft, resulting in a crash and complete loss of the MQ-9,” U.S. Air Force Gen. James B. Hecker, the commander of U.S. Air Forces Europe and Air Forces Africa, said. “In fact, this unsafe and unprofessional act by the Russians nearly caused both aircraft to crash.”
“U.S. and Allied aircraft will continue to operate in international airspace, and we call on the Russians to conduct themselves professionally and safely,” Hecker said.
President Joe Biden was briefed on the incident by national security adviser Jake Sullivan, National Security Council coordinator John Kirby told reporters.
State Department spokesman Ned Price informed reporters that the United States is “engaging directly with the Russians again at senior levels to convey our strong objections to this unsafe unprofessional intercept, which caused the downing of the unmanned US aircraft.”
Specifically, the U.S. is summoning Russian Ambassador Anatoly Antonov, “where we will convey this message in Moscow,” he added. “Meanwhile, Ambassador Tracy has conveyed a strong message to the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.”
Antonov said, “I was invited to the State Department, where I categorically rejected all the insinuations of the U.S. side. I explained the position of the Russian Federation. I stressed that the American UAV that was moving deliberately and provocatively towards the Russian territory with its transponders turned off violated the boundaries of the temporary airspace regime established for the special military operation, which was communicated to all concerned users of international airspace in accordance with international norms.”
“At the same time, the Russian fighters scrambled to identify the intruder did not use onboard weapons and did not come into contact with the UAV,” he added. “The unacceptable actions of the United States military in the close proximity to our borders are cause for concern. We are well aware of the missions such reconnaissance and strike drones are used for.”
The Pentagon is working through the declassification process to release video of the incident, Ryder explained, though he didn’t specify how long the process could take. He declined to say whether the U.S. would look to recover the drone.
EUCOM said this incident follows a pattern of dangerous behavior by Russian pilots.
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Last month, the Alaskan Region of North American Aerospace Defense Command tracked and intercepted four Russian aircraft that were entering and operating within the Alaska Air Defense Identification two days in a row. NORAD said at the time that the activity near the North American ADIZ was “not seen as a threat, nor is the activity seen as provocative.”
Kirby also noted such intercepts are “not an uncommon occurrence,” but he said that “this one obviously is noteworthy because of how unsafe and unprofessional” it was.
