The Ministry of Defense revealed the details of the incident with the American UAV over the Black Sea

On the morning of March 14, an American drone was spotted flying over the Black Sea in the direction of the Russian border. He flew with transponders turned off and violated the borders of the area of ​​​​the temporary regime for the use of airspace, because of which Russian fighters were lifted into the air. This is reported by the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation.

“As a result of sharp maneuvering around 9.30 (Moscow time), the MQ-9 unmanned aerial vehicle went into uncontrolled flight with a loss of altitude and collided with the water surface,” says in the message.

The Russian ministry stressed that the planes did not use airborne weapons and did not come into contact with the drone.

Earlier today, US European Command reported about the interception of an MQ-9 Reaper drone by two Russian Su-27 fighters over the Black Sea. The U.S. agency claimed that the aircraft was “performing routine operations in international airspace” when one of the Russian aircraft hit an MQ-9 propeller, causing the drone to crash into the sea.

The White House called the actions of the Russian pilots “unsafe and unprofessional”, specifying that US President Joe Biden was informed of the incident. At the Pentagon confirmedthat the drone was on a reconnaissance mission without specifying whether it contained a weapon. In connection with the interception of the drone, Russian Ambassador to the United States Anatoly Antonov was called in the State Department

A Vedomosti source explained earlier that the MQ-1C flights over the Black Sea take place with the transponder turned off, but give Ukraine no less valuable intelligence information. This was one of the reasons for the impact on the American drone, he added.