The United States condemned Russia’s “reckless” attitude for the attack of a fighter plane on a drone over the Black Sea

Washington on Tuesday condemned “reckless” collision of a Russian fighter jet with one of its reconnaissance drones over the Black Sea which led to the downing of the American aircraft.

Russian air interceptions in the area are common, but this one “is notable for dangerous and unprofessional that in fact it was reckless,” the spokesman for the United States National Security Council told reporters. John Kirby.

Kirby said US President Joe Biden had been briefed on the incident and the State Department would convey Washington’s concerns to Moscow.

“We don’t need to check anything with the Russians before flying in international airspace. There is no obligation to do so, and neither do we.”he added.

A Russian Su-27 plane collided with the propeller of the MQ-9 Reaper drone, forcing it to be shot down in the water and causing the loss of the aircraft, the US military said in a statement.

Prior to the collision, two Su-27s “dumped fuel and flew past the MQ-9”, he added.

The United States uses MQ-9 Reapers for surveillance and attacks, and used them in various places, such as the Middle East and Africa. Other countries, such as the UK and France, also use Reapers.

Several American MQ-9s have been lost in recent years, particularly to hostile action.

One was shot down in 2019 over Yemen with a surface-to-air missile fired by Houthi rebels, who also unsuccessfully fired another of the drones days later, US Central Command reported. .

According to media reports, an American MQ-9 crashed in Libya in 2022, while another went down during a training exercise in Romania earlier in the year and another was lost in the over Libya in 2019.

With information from AFP

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