The United States reported a collision of a Russian Su-27 with an American drone over the Black Sea

Two Russian Su-27 aircraft intercepted an American MQ-9 Reaper drone over the Black Sea. This is reported by the European command of the US armed forces.

“Our MQ-9 aircraft was performing routine operations in international airspace when it was intercepted and shot down by a Russian aircraft, resulting in a crash and the total loss of the MQ-9,” General James Hecker, commander of the US Air Force in Europe and Africa, said in a statement.

The U.S. drone was on a reconnaissance mission and was in international airspace over the Black Sea, the agency said in a statement. Hecker called the actions of the Russian pilots “unsafe and unprofessional.”

The incident occurred on the morning of March 14, around 9.03 Moscow time. It is specified that one of the Russian Su-27s touched the MQ-9 propeller, as a result, the US military had to sink the drone.

White House National Security Council Strategic Communications Coordinator John Kirby informedthat US President Joe Biden has been informed of the incident. He noted that Russian fighters had previously intercepted American aircraft over the Black Sea, but called for attention to this incident because of “how unsafe and unprofessional it was.”

According to a Vedomosti source, the incident with the American drone took place in the morning of March 14. Unlike heavy high-altitude UAVs of the RQ-4 type, whose flights are displayed on the Flightradar24 resource, MQ-1C flights over the Black Sea take place with the transponder turned off, but provide Ukraine with no less valuable intelligence information. This was one of the reasons for the impact on the American drone, says the source of Vedomosti.