US Drone Downed After Collision With 'Unprofessional' Russian Fighter Over Black Sea; Moscow Disputes US Account

Russia is disputing the Pentagon’s account of how a large U.S. military drone was downed over the Black Sea on Tuesday, denying the U.S. assertion that a Russian fighter jet being flown in a “reckless and unprofessional” manner clipped the unmanned aerial vehicle.

U.S. Europe Command said the MQ-9 drone, flying over international waters, was intercepted by two Russian Su-27 fighters, whose pilots “dumped fuel on and flew in front of the MQ-9 in a reckless, environmentally unsound and unprofessional manner.”

One of the Russian jets then struck the propeller of the drone, compelling U.S. forces controlling the UAV to pilot it down and into the sea, it said.

“This incident demonstrates a lack of competence in addition to being unsafe and unprofessional,” EUCOM said.

“In fact, this unsafe and unprofessional act by the Russians nearly caused both aircraft to crash,” said U.S. Air Force Gen. James B. Hecker, commander of U.S. Air Forces Europe.