A Russian military plane collided with a U.S. drone in international airspace over the Black Sea on Tuesday, prompting U.S. forces to land the unmanned aircraft in international waters, west of Crimea.
U.S. European Command confirmed that a Russian Su-27 aircraft struck the propeller of a U.S. MQ-9 drone, which was on a routine mission in international airspace when two Russian jets attempted to intercept it.
“Several times before the collision, the Su-27s dumped fuel on and flew in front of the MQ-9 in a reckless, environmentally unsound and unprofessional manner. This incident demonstrates a lack of competence in addition to being unsafe and unprofessional,” a spokesman for the U.S. European Command said in a statement.
The Russian jets’ recklessness almost caused one of the fighter jets to crash, U.S. Air Force General James B. Heckler, commander of U.S. Air Forces Europe and Air Forces Africa, said.
However, U.S. and Allied aircraft will continue to operate in international airspace, he added. The U.S. has urged Russia to instruct its pilots to conduct themselves in an appropriate and not haphazard manner in the skies.
“This incident follows a pattern of dangerous actions by Russian pilots while interacting with U.S. and Allied aircraft over international airspace, including over the Black Sea,” the statement said. “These aggressive actions by Russian aircrew are dangerous and could lead to miscalculation and unintended escalation.”
John Kirby, the National Security Council coordinator for strategic communications, said at a teleconference Tuesday that the White House condemned the destruction of the U.S. drone. These kinds of intercepts of U.S. craft by Russian aircraft are not uncommon over the Black Sea, Kirby said, but this was the first time in which a U.S. drone was downed. This incident was “unsafe” and “unprofessional,” and was “unique in that regard,” he said.
“If the message is that they want to deter or dissuade us from flying & operating in international airspace over the Black Sea..that message will fail,” Kirby told Newsweek.